Released: January 21, 2011

Debit card predators

Source: New York Times (Free Registration)

Congress outlawed many of the credit card industry’s most abusive practices in 2009. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which regulates about 4,800 state-chartered banks, recently did the same thing with the debit card industry. The banks, which are predictably crying foul, should not be allowed to evade the rules by switching to a less rigorous federal regulator. Congress set an excellent model with the credit card law. It required companies to give 45 days’ notice before raising interest rates. Late charges and other penalties must be “reasonable and proportional.”

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