In This Issue:

Beltway Report; Bureau Report; Privacy Report; Mobile Payments Report; Mortgage Report; Operations Report; Preemption Report; Arbitration Report; and TCPA Report.

Excerpt from Beltway Report:

You’re So Wrong! -

On July 31, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a sharply worded opinion holding the Federal Reserve Board’s (FRB) debit interchange fee and network exclusivity provisions are contrary to the language and purpose of the underlying statute, section 920 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), commonly known as the “Durbin Amendment.” The court relied on its view of the statutory language and on statements made by Senator Durbin to conclude that the FRB disregarded congressional intent in “inflating all debit card transaction fees.” The court instructed the FRB to vacate the debit interchange fee limitation and network exclusivity rules, but stayed the vacatur to “provide the FRB an opportunity to replace the invalid portions of” the regulation. On August 21, the FRB appealed the decision to the D.C. Circuit, and both the FRB and the merchants requested a stay of the court’s decision until the appeal has been heard.