Small Businesses Could See Relief in Financial Reform Bill

As lawmakers return from the Fourth of July recess, the Senate is expected to vote on the financial reform bill approved by the House last week -- with a provision affecting credit and debit card fees that is likely to benefit small businesses, AOL Small Business reported.

Although the Senate version of the bill spearheaded by Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) made concessions on the issue to appease the House, which passed its version on Wednesday, the compromise measures are still expected to provide relief for small-business owners.

"Swipe fees have long been a problem for many small businesses, and though the compromise doesn't go as far as [we] would prefer, it does offer some relief," the National Small Business Association said in a statement.

In the compromise bill, the Federal Reserve has the authority to enforce credit and debit card fees so they are "reasonable and proportional to the actual cost incurred" in a transaction. While fees charged by Visa, MasterCard and others will face no government regulation, issuers will be required to provide merchants with more processing options. This competition could drive down processing fees.

The bill bans merchants from offering discounts for transactions processed through one card network over another, but allows discounts for certain forms of payments, whether check or cash. The card networks will be permitted to limit the minimum transaction to $10, though the Fed can raise this threshold over time.