WASHINGTON - The banking industry should "drop the drama around debit card reform legislation and take advantage of the benefits the Durbin Amendment has created for small banks," says banking expert Lee Wetherington in an American Banker op-ed.

The Fort Mill Times writes that Wetherington, a highly-regarded financial services expert, says small banks exempted under the Durbin Amendment are enjoying "robust" growth in debit card use and should "continue to incentivize" their customers to use debit cards.

"When it comes to debit, smaller (banks) must avoid assuming their fortunes mirror the big boys. For now, the good news is that they don€™t," wrote Wetherington, the director of strategic insight for ProfitStars, a division of Jack Henry & Associates.

Wetherington cited a recent FTC report that confirms debit card fee limits have not harmed community banks and credit unions. He also cited findings from the Oliver Wyman's 2012 Debit Issuer Study, commissioned by Pulse, that says debit card growth remains robust: "The average consumer debit cardholder spent $8,326 on a debit card in 2011, up from $7,781 in 2010. Active debit users averaged 18.3 debit purchases per month, up from 16.3 the year prior. For 2012, exempt debit issuers (under $10 billion in assets) are expected to see 14% growth in PIN debit transactions, 13% for signature."

Wetherington also "offered a peek into the lobbying strategy behind failed efforts to kill the Durbin Amendment," writes the Fort Mill Times, saying he openly disagreed "with an unnamed national banking association chairman" about the impact of the Durbin Amendment. He said the chairman "confronted me€¦and told me in no uncertain terms that my speech threatened to divide the banks at a time when unity was essential."

Meanwhile, the big bank lobby continues to spread false information around Capitol Hill, misleading members of Congress to believe that further reforms to address credit card swipe fees, which cost the convenience and fuel retailing industry $11.1 billion in 2011, would have a negative affect on consumers. Credit card fees have tripled since 2004 and generate more than $50 billion in annual revenue for the banks.

The Merchants Payments Coalition, of which NACS is a founding partner, continues to dispel the myths about credit and debit card swipe fees that are perpetuated by the banking lobby.