DEBIT CARD PROCESSING FEE CAP CHALLENGED IN SMALL BUSINESS LAWSUIT

The following information was released by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB):

Amicus brief challenges the legality of debit interchange fee cap

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 6, 2026) NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Linney's Pizza, LLC v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The case involves a challenge to a Federal Reserve rule that allows banks to charge excessive fees on debit card transactions.

"While accepting debit card payments is status quo for Main Street business owners, the exorbitant interchange fees charged by banks should not be," said Beth Milito, Vice President and Executive Director of NFIB's Small Business Legal Center. "The district court erred in ruling that prohibited costs could be included in the calculation of debit card interchange fees. Small businesses are now looking to the court of appeals to correct this mistake and prevent big banks from draining Main Street business owners dry through unreasonable swipe fees."

NFIB joined the Retail Litigation Center and several other business groups in filing a brief arguing that the Federal Reserve Board's Regulation II, which establishes a cap of 21 cents per transaction on debit card "swipe fees," violates the Dodd-Frank Act by allowing banks to recover costs not permitted under the Act, resulting in billions of dollars in profits for banks. The brief was filed in a case brought by Linney's Pizza, a restaurant in Frankfort, Kentucky, which sued in 2022, claiming the rule was unjustified and that the fee cap was set too high.

NFIB recently filed an amicus brief in the case Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, also arguing that the Federal Reserve set an impermissibly high debit interchange fee cap.

The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation's courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.