House approves financial reform bill that includes regulation on swipe fees

Washington, D.C. The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to pass the reconciled financial reform bill, which includes a provision to regulate debit-card interchange fees. However, a Senate vote was delayed until mid-July.

The House voted 237-192 to approve the conference report to H.R. 4173, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which seeks to prevent the type of banking failures that occurred in 2008. The legislation also introduces regulatory oversight of interchange fees. The Senate is not expected to vote on the bill until after it returns on July 12, according to reports.

"RILA [Retail Industry Leaders Association] applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for standing up to big bank interests by passing meaningful reforms, which will benefit Main Street merchants and consumers,” commented John Emling, senior VP for government affairs, RILA. "By focusing narrowly on financial institutions at that heart of the problem, the swipe fee reforms included in the Dodd-Frank Act address the out-of-control fees, while excluding smaller banks and credit unions from reforms.”