24 August 2012
Hotel Lawyer on card processing fees.
The financial reforms following in the wake of the banking mess brought new regulations on the use and charges for credit and debit cards. There may be some benefits here for hoteliers, but there certainly are some decisions to make.
In addition to all the work he does on hotel management agreements and hotel franchise agreements, my partner Robert Braun represents a number of merchant card processors, banks and merchants in structuring credit card processing arrangements, both within the United States and internationally.
Today, he shares some of his insights on the recent legal changes in laws on card processing and the potential impact on the hotel industry.
Credit Card Fees and the Hospitality Industry
Impact of the Durbin Amendment
by
Robert E. Braun | Hotel Lawyer
Dodd-Frank affects hotels and other merchants
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 certainly sparked fierce debate about government regulation, consumer choice, innovation and entrepreneurship. The Durbin Amendment, a last-minute addition to the Dodd-Frank Act, drastically lowers swipe fees – the fee charged to merchants every time a customer pays with plastic – on debit cards issued by big banks, cutting into the banks’ revenue while, presumably, lowering costs for merchants and therefore consumers. The reduction in fees was significant: the Amendment reduced fees to 24 cents from a previous average of 43 cents, according to a Federal Reserve Board report.




Guy Maisnik, Vice Chair, JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® works extensively on hotel joint ventures and financings, as well as acquisitions.