Community banks were not a part of the original discussion on the Durbin interchange amendment. Further, in preparing its draft rule the Fed only surveyed about 130 of the largest banks in the country. Not a single community banker was asked to provide any input on a set of price controls that would unquestionably harm every institution that offers debit cards.
Consumers and their community banks will certainly feel the impact of this amendment. I am still in shock that this went through…