Big U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, are studying a payments deal that could help them sidestep strict limits on debit‑card fees. Reports say the group has explored buying a card network from Fiserv, which might let them charge more per transaction than current rules allow.
Why Banks Want a New Card Network
According to the Wall Street Journal, the banks have held early discussions about acquiring Fiserv’s Star network, a smaller debit‑card system that handles PIN‑based payments. Because the Durbin Amendment caps the interchange fees that large banks can collect on regulated debit cards, they have seen billions in revenue fall away since the law took effect. By moving more transactions onto a different network structure, they hope to design pricing that sits outside some of those limits, while still following the letter of the law.
Executives view this as a way to boost fee income without returning to the kind of direct monthly charges that sparked public anger a decade ago.
Bank of America, for example, backed off a planned $5 debit card fee in 2011 after strong customer and political backlash. Since then, big banks have tried to rebuild payment revenue through complex pricing, account bundles, and merchant fees, rather than simple new charges on cardholders.
Concerns Inside the Banks
Some bank bosses fear the action could spark another round of criticism, as customers or politicians may see it as an attempt to avoid regulation while they review the acquisition.
Internal discussions reportedly center on whether higher merchant costs will ultimately be passed on to retail pricing, sparking protests from shoppers and advocacy organizations. Banks realize that any adjustment to the cost of debit cards, a fundamental tool for everyday payments, may rapidly become a political problem.
Regulators and consumer groups already scrutinize the economics of debit cards, warning that workarounds can erode the spirit of charge limitations. If the deal goes through, it would certainly trigger a deep dive by the Federal Reserve and lawmakers who helped write the Durbin rules. That scrutiny could affect how far banks can go with their pricing and could even spark new disputes in Washington over where to set the next round of constraints
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