Navy Federal Credit Union Must Face Suit on Foreign Debit Fees

A class action breach of contract suit against Navy Federal Credit Union for charging in-country customers fees on debit card payments they made to merchants abroad was revived by the Fourth Circuit Thursday.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said that the fees fell within the clear and unambiguous terms of NFCU’s debit card contracts. But the unpublished opinion by the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found the contract’s language ambiguous.

The contract says that debit card transactions “made in a foreign country” will incur a 1% fee. It also says that “Point-of-sale ...