US Appeals Court Overturns Fed’s 2011 Debit Card Swipe Fee Rule

The ruling reopens a long-settled cost-allocation question for debit interchange, with the practical effect landing on the banks that rely on swipe-fee revenue and the merchants who absorb it. Because the court anchored its reasoning in Dodd-Frank's statutory intent rather than the specific cost figures, the Fed's rewrite will be judged on how narrowly it defines allowable costs. Whether the Fed narrows the fraud-prevention component, and how quickly a replacement rule is proposed, is the open question.