The common explanation from banks is that they are losing billions of dollars in revenue from the Durbin Amendment which basically cut the interchange fee on debit card transactions in half.

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Retailers and merchants appear to be the big winners from this reduced fee that resulted from the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.

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The headline financial impact from the CARD Act, Reg E, and the Durbin amendment have amounted to billions of dollars in reduced fee revenue at each of the large banks.

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