WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge from retailers who claim the Federal Reserve allows banks to charge businesses too much for handling debit card transactions.
The justices on Tuesday let stand a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the Fed’s cap of about 24 cents per transaction on so-called “swipe fees.” That ruling was a setback for merchants who pay the fees to banks every time a customer uses a debit card to make a payment.
Before the cap, fees averaged 44 cents per swipe. But retailers wanted it even lower and argued that the Fed improperly used data that made the cap too high.
A federal judge struck down the cap last year, but a federal appeals court overturned that decision in a win for the banks.
