15 U.S.C. § 1693o: Reasonable fees and rules for payment card transactions

The Board may prescribe regulations, pursuant to section 553 of title 5 , regarding any interchange transaction fee that an issuer may receive or charge with respect to an electronic debit transaction, to implement this subsection (including related definitions), and to prevent circumvention or evasion of this subsection. The amount of any interchange transaction fee that an issuer may receive or charge with respect to an electronic debit transaction shall be reasonable and proportional to the cost incurred by the issuer with respect to the transaction. The Board shall prescribe regulations in final form not later than 9 months after July 21, 2010 , to establish standards for assessing whether the amount of any interchange transaction fee described in paragraph (2) is reasonable and proportional to the cost incurred by the issuer with respect to the transaction. The Board may require any issuer (or agent of an issuer) or payment card network to provide the Board with such information as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection and the Board, in issuing rules under subparagraph (A) and on at least a bi-annual basis thereafter, shall disclose such aggregate or summary information concerning the costs incurred, and interchange transaction fees charged or received, by issuers or payment card networks in connection with the authorization, clearance or settlement of electronic debit transactions as the Board considers appropriate and in the public interest. electronic debit transactions; and checking transactions that are required within the Federal Reserve bank system to clear at par; the incremental cost incurred by an issuer for the role of the issuer in the authorization, clearance, or settlement of a particular electronic debit transaction, which cost shall be considered under paragraph (2); and other costs incurred by an issuer which are not specific to a particular electronic debit transaction, which costs shall not be considered under paragraph (2); and consult, as appropriate, with the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the National Credit Union Administration Board, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. such adjustment is reasonably necessary to make allowance for costs incurred by the issuer in preventing fraud in relation to electronic debit transactions involving that issuer; and be designed to ensure that any fraud-related adjustment of the issuer is limited to the amount described in clause (i) and takes into account any fraud-related reimbursements (including amounts from charge-backs) received from consumers, merchants, or payment card networks in relation to electronic debit transactions involving the issuer; and require issuers to take effective steps to reduce the occurrence of, and costs from, fraud in relation to electronic debit transactions, including through the development and implementation of cost-effective fraud prevention technology. The Board shall prescribe regulations in final form not later than 9 months after July 21, 2010 , to establish standards for making adjustments under this paragraph. the nature, type, and occurrence of fraud in electronic debit transactions; the extent to which the occurrence of fraud depends on whether authorization in an electronic debit transaction is based on signature, PIN, or other means; the available and economical means by which fraud on electronic debit transactions may be reduced; the fraud prevention and data security costs expended by each party involved in electronic debit transactions (including consumers, persons who accept debit cards as a form of payment, financial institutions, retailers and payment card networks); the costs of fraudulent transactions absorbed by each party involved in such transactions (including consumers, persons who accept debit cards as a form of payment, financial institutions, retailers and payment card networks); the extent to which interchange transaction fees have in the past reduced or increased incentives for parties involved in electronic debit transactions to reduce fraud on such transactions; and such other factors as the Board considers appropriate. This subsection shall not apply to any issuer that, together with its affiliates, has assets of less than $10,000,000,000, and the Board shall exempt such issuers from regulations prescribed under paragraph (3)(A). For purposes of this paragraph, the term “issuer” shall be limited to the person holding the asset account that is debited through an electronic debit transaction. a debit card or general-use prepaid card that has been provided to a person pursuant to a Federal, State or local government-administered payment program, in which the person may only use the debit card or general-use prepaid card to transfer or debit funds, monetary value, or other assets that have been provided pursuant to such program; or linked to funds, monetary value, or assets which are purchased or loaded on a prepaid basis; not issued or approved for use to access or debit any account held by or for the benefit of the card holder (other than a subaccount or other method of recording or tracking funds purchased or loaded on the card on a prepaid basis); redeemable at multiple, unaffiliated merchants or service providers, or automated teller machines; used to transfer or debit funds, monetary value, or other assets; and reloadable and not marketed or labeled as a gift card or gift certificate. A fee for an overdraft, including a shortage of funds or a transaction processed for an amount exceeding the account balance. A fee imposed by the issuer for the first withdrawal per month from an automated teller machine that is part of the issuer’s designated automated teller machine network. all automated teller machines identified in the name of the issuer; or any network of automated teller machines identified by the issuer that provides reasonable and convenient access to the issuer’s customers. the prevalence of the use of general-use prepaid cards in Federal, State or local government-administered payment programs; and the interchange transaction fees and cardholder fees charged with respect to the use of such general-use prepaid cards. The Board may prescribe regulations, pursuant to section 553 of title 5 , regarding any network fee. a network fee is not used to directly or indirectly compensate an issuer with respect to an electronic debit transaction; and a network fee is not used to circumvent or evade the restrictions of this subsection and regulations prescribed under such subsection. The Board shall prescribe regulations in final form before the end of the 9-month period beginning on July 21, 2010 , to carry out the authorities provided under subparagraph (A). This subsection shall take effect at the end of the 12-month period beginning on July 21, 2010 . 1 such network; or affiliated persons; or networks affiliated with such issuer. The Board shall, before the end of the 1-year period beginning on July 21, 2010 , prescribe regulations providing that an issuer or payment card network shall not, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed member of the network, by contract, requirement, condition, penalty, or otherwise, inhibit the ability of any person who accepts debit cards for payments to direct the routing of electronic debit transactions for processing over any payment card network that may process such transactions. in the case of a discount or in-kind incentive for payment by the use of debit cards, the discount or in-kind incentive does not differentiate on the basis of the issuer or the payment card network; in the case of a discount or in-kind incentive for payment by the use of credit cards, the discount or in-kind incentive does not differentiate on the basis of the issuer or the payment card network; and to the extent required by Federal law and applicable State law, such discount or in-kind incentive is offered to all prospective buyers and disclosed clearly and conspicuously. For purposes of this paragraph, the network may not penalize any person for the providing of a discount that is in compliance with Federal law and applicable State law. such minimum dollar value does not differentiate between issuers or between payment card networks; and such minimum dollar value does not exceed $10.00; or of any Federal agency or institution of higher education to set a maximum dollar value for the acceptance by that Federal agency or institution of higher education of credit cards, to the extent that such maximum dollar value does not differentiate between issuers or between payment card networks. The Board may, by regulation prescribed pursuant to section 553 of title 5 , increase the amount of the dollar value listed in subparagraph (A)(i)(II). to discriminate between debit cards within a payment card network on the basis of the issuer that issued the debit card; or to discriminate between credit cards within a payment card network on the basis of the issuer that issued the credit card. The term “affiliate” means any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another company. means any card, or other payment code or device, issued or approved for use through a payment card network to debit an asset account (regardless of the purpose for which the account is established), whether authorization is based on signature, PIN, or other means; includes a general-use prepaid card, as that term is defined in section 1693 l –1(a)(2)(A) of this title; and does not include paper checks. The term “credit card” has the same meaning as in section 1602 of this title . means a reduction made from the price that customers are informed is the regular price; and does not include any means of increasing the price that customers are informed is the regular price. The term “electronic debit transaction” means a transaction in which a person uses a debit card. an agency (as defined in section 101 of title 31 ); and a Government corporation (as defined in section 103 of title 5 ). The term “institution of higher education” has the same meaning as in 1001 1 and 1002 of title 20. 1 So in original. Probably should be preceded by “sections”. The term “interchange transaction fee” means any fee established, charged or received by a payment card network for the purpose of compensating an issuer for its involvement in an electronic debit transaction. The term “issuer” means any person who issues a debit card, or credit card, or the agent of such person with respect to such card. The term “network fee” means any fee charged and received by a payment card network with respect to an electronic debit transaction, other than an interchange transaction fee. The term “payment card network” means an entity that directly, or through licensed members, processors, or agents, provides the proprietary services, infrastructure, and software that route information and data to conduct debit card or credit card transaction authorization, clearance, and settlement, and that a person uses in order to accept as a form of payment a brand of debit card, credit card or other device that may be used to carry out debit or credit transactions. Compliance with the requirements imposed under this section shall be enforced under section 1693 o of this title. Sections 1693m and 1693n of this title shall not apply with respect to this section or the requirements imposed pursuant to this section.