Tech groups back away from fight on debit card fees

A group of technology companies has reversed course and now is telling lawmakers that it officially has no position on new limits on debit card fees.

In a letter sent to lawmakers Tuesday, the advocacy group TechNet, which includes Google and Apple, said no consensus existed among its members as to whether debit card fees should be limited beginning in January, saying it is "neutral on this issue."

That comes days after the group, which also includes financial firms like Visa and UBS, circulated a letter among lawmakers throwing its support behind a bill offered by Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), which would delay the implementation of those limits for two years.

In the letter, the companies warned that new limits on how much banks can charge retailers for swiping their debit cards could lead banks and debit card networks to cut back on security, as cost savings would take precedent.

But now, the group says its "diverse membership" has no official take on the matter, calling itself "neutral on this issue."

That change, of course, comes days after another group — the NAACP — issued a similar clarification. Despite saying in an earlier letter to Congress that it had concerns the limits might have a negative impact on the communities it was intended to protect, the group was explicit in a Monday letter that it was not calling for the limits to be delayed.

Rather, it simply wants the Federal Reserve, which is charged with writing rules imposing the new limit, to "swiftly review" its December proposal, which the group said was "too strict."

That proposal would limit debit card fees to seven to 12 cents per transaction, down from the current 44-cent industry average.