JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and other big banks explore how to sidestep debit swipe fee caps

Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock A handful of America's biggest financial institutions are investigating how they might be able to evade mandatory ceilings for certain charges — and, if they're successful, the public could soon be paying more for everyday transactions. While the fees in question aren't directly consumer-facing, they are a built-in part of every debit transaction, impacting everyone who pays for goods and services with a debit card or accepts debit as a form of payment at their place of business. Must Read Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks. Here's where their money is actually going Currently, when large banks process this form of payment, they charge vendors what is called an interchange or swipe fee, which is set at a maximum of $0.21 plus 0.05% of the purchase amount by law, plus a potential additional cent to cover the costs of fraud prevention (1). But, this limit only applies when payments go through a third party network (2). So, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorganChase and others are now exploring acquiring their own network to work around the rule that governs these commissions. How do interchange levies work? During a sale, a card network, such as Mastercard, acts as an intermediary between the merchant's and the customer's accounts, facilitating the smooth, quick and encrypted flow of funds. Without these networks, banks would need thousands of direct connections and agreements between one another. In every debit payment, the merchant pays one toll to the network itself for maintenance — called an assessment fee (3) — and another charge, the interchange fee, to the cardholder's bank (though it is also set by the network). This amount covers the institution's expenses and liabilities in providing the card and processing payments. Both fall under the wider umbrella of merchant discount fees for accepting debit and credit cards. But, as Capital One showed when it purchased Discover Financial Services in May 2025 (4), if banks own these systems themselves, they can bypass the legal framework that applies to network-routed transactions, including the limits on interchange rates. According to sources who spoke to The Wall Street Journal (5)this week, for this reason, each of the above mentioned brands have been assessing the feasibility of purchasing a network from payment solutions company Fiserv. Story Continues What would increased interchange fees mean for consumers? Interchange fee maximums were added as an amendment (6) to the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 to keep transaction commissions "reasonable" as debit rose to dominate payment types. The idea was to prevent consumers from shouldering high interchange levies, as when merchant's costs rise, their prices are likely to, as well (and surveys show this (7)). But, some argue that (6) the savings aren't always passed to shoppers, in part because interchange fees are only a portion of those that the vendor pays with every transaction. In addition, banks say (8) that the extra revenue from flexible interchange fees enabled them to offer savings to both merchants and consumers elsewhere, such as through rewards programs, which they've cut back on since the cap was implemented. "By regulating the interchange fee, the goal of the Durbin Amendment was to lower merchants' costs of accepting debit cards and to pass along the cost savings to consumers in terms of reduced retail prices. A few years after the regulation was in place, however, it is unclear how effectively the regulation has fulfilled its intention," states one 2014 study (7). That research also found that interchange limits had little impact on stores' debit restrictions, including minimum amounts to use debit, debit use surcharges or refusal to accept debit payments. Read More: Are you paying too much for car insurance? Here are 3 clever ways to slash your monthly bill "If a merchant imposed debit restrictions prior to the regulation, it is likely the merchant would continue to do so post-regulation," the paper says. This explains why some businesses don't accept, for example, American Express, which operates as both a card issuer and a card network. Still, experts do say consumers may end up feeling the difference if merchant-facing charges are hiked in this way. "For merchants, interchange fees play a large role in determining the expenses associated with each transaction a customer makes with them. Higher interchange rates mean increased transaction costs, potentially driving them towards increasing the prices of their products or services for consumers," warns business fintech platform Airwallex (9). Adam Rust, the director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America, agrees. "This won't affect consumer protections… but the economics of it could be impactful because interchange costs are passed on to merchants and consumers. If these kinds of changes occur, it does set up the possibility of affecting what people are paying at the checkout," Rust told Moneywise. "It would be a win for big banks, but definitely a loss for merchants. What happens to consumers is less clear, but probably not great." Interchange prices aren't the only banking fee that's made headlines in recent weeks: in late June, one senator took banks to task for "unfair" overdraft fees (10) that generate billions for the sector each year by processing withdrawals before deposits. You May Also Like 'Gold still crashing!': Robert Kiyosaki admits he was wrong — but doubles down on his $35K prediction The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028 — and experts say most people won't act in time. What to do before the window closes Here's the average income of Americans by age in 2026. Are you keeping up or falling behind? When he dies, Warren Buffett said 90% of his wife's inheritance will go into a single investment. Here's why (and how you can do it too) Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise's best stories and exclusive interviews first — clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now. Article Sources We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see ourethics and guidelines. U.S. Federal Reserve (1); Stripe (2); Finix (3); Stripe Support (4); The Wall Street Journal (5), (8); Investopedia (6); Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (7); Airwallex (9); Banking Dive (10) This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and other big banks explore how to sidestep debit swipe fee caps This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. View Comments