The Brawl Over Debit-Card Fees

Thousands of credit union members visited Capitol Hill on Mar. 3 to warn that a Federal Reserve proposal limiting the swipe fees collected on debit-card purchases is anti-consumer. A cap on fees banks collect from merchants, they told lawmakers, will force card-issuing credit unions and banks to cancel reward programs, eliminate free checking, and impose annual fees.

A week later, about 170 small business owners flew into town with the opposite message. The Fed plan is pro-consumer, they said, because it will help lower retail prices while preventing card issuers from profiting at their expense—money that goes to fatten bankers' bonuses.