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The Bottom Line

Unless they work in the industry, most consumers who make a purchase with a card would struggle to define the word “interchange.” On the other hand, for the organizations who largely make it possible to use cards to make a purchase – issuers, merchants and processors – interchange is always top of mind.

The Fed recently issued a report detailing average debit card interchange fees by payment card network. I know, it’s like Christmas in August, but try to contain your excitement. Joking aside, payment geeks like me find endless insights pouring over the details and footnotes of this annual publication. We regularly share these reports with our clients, and suggest they keep the information at their fingertips.

Philanthropy is an important part of SRM’s own mission. We believe in giving back and we know that a number of our clients feel the same way.  That is why we decided to co-host an event that recently took place in scenic Seward, Alaska. It was an educational program, Earning Your Independence, and joining us as co-host were investment advisors, Performance Trust. The goal of the program was to bring together executives who were interested in education, adventure, networking and raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network.

In case you missed it, June 2018 saw another consortium enter the already crowded payments fray. As its name implies, the Secure Payments Partnership’s primary focus is “to address the ongoing battle against payment fraud and to devise improvements for the U.S. card payment system.” To understand the impact of this announcement, the history and context below must be considered. 

As many of you are aware, last August marked 25 years that SRM has been providing clients with vendor services. During that quarter of a century, our firm has delivered cost savings and revenue enhancements that represent billions of dollars in value to the banks and credit unions we serve. This year alone our work for these institutions will uncover approximately $70 million in “found money.”

Though I was not yet a member of the SRM team when that 25^th anniversary was celebrated, my decision to join the firm was influenced by the reputation SRM has built over those two and a half decades operating in the U.S. My responsibility is to extend the value of our reputation and brand to the clients we now serve to Europe.     

Just the phrase, “The Durbin Amendment” is enough to drive some less reserved bankers to punch a wall, scream out a window, or initiate whatever coping mechanism helps them most effectively blow off steam. While the mere mention of this law, at a minimum, elevates the blood pressure of those responsible for managing banks and credit unions, these executives recognize that the sensible approach to Durbin is to find ways to thrive within its constraints.

To say that some financial institutions (FIs) have an unhealthy obsession with the Durbin Amendment is not a stretch.  These FIs have been watching and waiting hopefully at a brief window of (probably unrealistic) hope that the new administration would repeal the amendment. The reality for all FIs, however, is that aside from some regulatory relief around the edges, there’s little reason to expect meaningful action on the regulatory front until after the 2018 mid-term elections.

SRM was honored to be the signature sponsor at this year’s National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions’ (NAFCU) 50^th annual conference. Given that more than a quarter of the roughly 250 credit unions in attendance are SRM clients, this was clearly an event our company wanted to help support. For anyone who missed the details, NAFCU hosted the four-day annual gathering in Honolulu, Hawaii drawing more than a thousand leaders from credit unions and service providers.