NRF welcomes consumer groups' opposition to swipe-fee reform delay

WASHINGTON — Just two weeks after expressing its discouragement caused by the delayed swipe-fee reform, the National Retail Federation lauded a letter from a coalition of consumer groups that also opposed the delay, which is slated to go into effect this summer.

Americans for Financial Reform — a coalition focused on financial services industry reform that includes the Consumer Federation of America, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and a number of other consumer organizations among its 250 national, state and local members — asked Congress Wednesday to reject proposals to delay swipe-fee reform.

“The current interchange system is uncompetitive, nontransparent and harmful to consumers,” AFR said. “AFR does not support congressional delay of implementation of the new law.”

The NRF said that the groups expressed that "it’s time to do something about [swipe fees], not time to derail reform through further study."

As previously reported, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., recently introduced the Debit Interchange Fee Study Act of 2011, which would postpone swipe-fee reductions included in last year’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act by two years, and would require a study of the issue.