FMI urges appellate court to uphold debit reform ruling

WASHINGTON — The Food Marketing Institute, a plaintiff in the litigation against the Federal Reserve’s interpretation of debit reforms legislated by Congress under the Durbin Amendment, on Friday urged the Appeals Court to agree with U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon’s July 31 decision. 

Judge Leon ruled that the U.S. Federal Reserve had “clearly disregarded” Congress’ intent “by inappropriately inflating all debit card transaction fees by billions of dollars.”

FMI is pleased to be a named plaintiff in such an important case for the food retail industry," stated FMI SVP Government and public affairs Jennifer Hatcher. “We urge the three-judge panel to concur with Judge Leon’s decision and with what merchants witness every day: the Federal Reserve did not follow the law when crafting a rule that continues to impose a fee that is neither reasonable nor proportional on merchants.”              

To read the collective argument for why retailers are urging the Appeals Court to make banks follow the law on debit-card transactions, visit the Merchants Payments Coalition website: UnfairCreditCardFees.com.