US federal appeals court overturns Fed's 2011 debit card swipe fee rule

A federal appeals court said the Federal Reserve must rewrite its rule capping the fees charged for processing debit card transactions because the existing rule violates Congress's legislative intent. The Fed's rule allows banks to include certain costs when calculating debit card swipe fees, which the court said does not meet the requirements of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. The ruling upheld a lower court's decision to vacate the Fed's debit card interchange fee cap. Merchants argue that the Fed should replace the existing rule with one that complies with the law and can ease pressure from rising commodity prices.