Visa, Mastercard Drop as Fed Eyes Changes to Debit Card Fee Cap

Shares of Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. dropped in late trading after the Federal Reserve announced it will consider revising the cap on fees merchants must pay to banks each time consumers swipe a debit card at checkout.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve will consider the topic in an open meeting on Oct. 25, according to a statement on Tuesday. The current standard caps those fees at 21 cents per transaction plus 0.05% of the transaction amount, a maximum set more than a decade ago.

The Fed will consider lowering the cap, according to the Wall Street ...