Senators Cruz and Britt Introduce Legislation to Raise Debit Card Fee Caps for Smaller Banks

Debit swipe fees averaged ~44 cents per transaction before the 2011 cap — the Fed set the new limit at 21 cents plus 0.05% of the transaction value

Exempt small banks averaged 43 cents per debit transaction in 2012 — nearly double the ~24 cents collected by fee-capped large banks

The $10 billion debit fee threshold has never been adjusted for inflation since it was set in 2010 — a CRS report documents dozens of fixed bank asset thresholds that have eroded in real value over time

In 2023, total debit card interchange fee revenue across all issuers reached $34.12 billion — up 3.9% per year since 2021

A survey found only 1.2% of merchants passed Durbin Amendment savings on to consumers — while 21.6% raised prices — but a GMU study found small-ticket merchants paid higher fees after the cap