Debit Interchange Fee Battle Heats Up Ahead of Fed Ruling

The Federal Reserve is charged with issuing its decision next month on the fees that financial institutions charge stores every time a customer pays with a debit card. These interchange fees, as they're called, were for years a hidden cost borne by merchants who wanted to allow customers to use their debit cards.

A lawsuit settlement last year made consumers more aware of the complicated transactions -- $20.5 billion annually -- behind each swipe. The Fed's preliminary take on the issue would cap the fees at 12 cents per transaction, a fraction of the average 44 cents merchants are now charged per swipe.