Banks, Merchants Get Three-Month Extension on Swipe Fee Comments

The Federal Reserve gave industry groups and others an additional three months to comment on a proposal that would slash fees charged to merchants for processing debit card transactions by nearly 30%.

The so-called swipe fees that debit card networks led by Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. could charge would be limited to 14.4 cents per transaction plus 0.04% of the transaction amount under the Fed’s proposal. Debit card interchange fees are currently capped at 21 cents per transaction plus 0.05% of the total amount.

The Fed’s board voted 6-1 in October to support the proposal, with Gov. Michelle ...