NAACP clarifies its stance on debit card fees

Hilary Shelton, the director of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, said it appeared the group had been “misinterpreted” in an earlier letter sent to Boehner. In March, the group wrote that the limits “should be further examined fully to ensure that it does not have a negative impact on the communities it was meant to help.”

That letter raised some eyebrows on Capitol Hill, as it appeared the group had joined the fight to delay the new rules, an effort that had primarily been fought by large banks balking at the reduced fees.

But in its latest letter, the NAACP explicitly said it did not support a delay on implementing the new limits — which are set to take effect in July — but rather that it wants to see the Federal Reserve conduct a “swift review” of the proposed rules, which it criticized as “too strict.”

The group maintained that the call for a review should not be misconstrued as opposition to debt fee limits in general, calling the current system “uncompetitive, non-transparent, and harmful to consumer, particularly low- and middle-income consumers.”

While the banking industry wants to see the Durbin amendment ultimately repealed, the current push is to delay the new limits before they take effect. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) has sponsored legislation in the Senate that would halt the rulemaking for two years, as the matter is further studied.