Retail merchants in New Hampshire may be able to breathe a collective sigh of relief, with state legislators fighting to implement a new rule that would limit swipe fees, Convenience Store News reports.

Called New Hampshire House Bill 1319, the bill specifically states "no bank shall charge a person doing business in this state who accepts a credit card or debit card issued by the bank as payment for goods or services an interchange fee, or 'swipe fee,' that exceeds 1 percent of the payment."

Swipe fees are a common compliant among retailers both in New Hampshire and nationwide. Rep. Johen Hikel himself owns an auto repair shop and is forced to pay between 0.65 percent and 4.76 percent for each credit card transaction. Moreover, retailers frequently only find out how much they are paying when they receive the bill.

The Durbin Amendment led to reduced swipe fees nationwide. Many financial institutions tried to circumvent the bill by passing the fees onto the consumer for other services, such as charging debit accounts for making purchases through point-of-sale software.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 2:57 am .