The Tester-Corker amendment needed 60 votes for passage in the Senate, however it failed to clear this hurdle and ended with a vote of 54 to 45. Defeat of the amendment, which sought to delay (i.e., effectively kill) debit card swipe fee reform and was intensely supported and funded by the country€™s largest banks, removes the last hurdle to important debit swipe fee reforms mandated by Congress in 2010.

"This vote is an enormous win for consumers, since it fundamentally changes the rules for how banks collect $1 billion every month in debit swipe fees from consumers," said NACS Chairman Jeff Miller, who is president of Norfolk, Virginia-based Miller Oil Co. "The vote means that consumers will now have a choice in how they pay for goods, and retailers will be able to provide incentives to reward customers for selecting lower-cost options, instead of funneling these costs directly to the banks. Today€™s vote clearly shows the importance of making your voice heard," he added.

"This was a 10-year battle to kill the banking industry€™s stranglehold on how our country€™s payment system operates; we were fighting against an opponent that has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into maintaining the status quo. Our convenience and fuel retailing industry played a leading role in this historic victory: petition campaigns from a record-setting 5.4 million consumers demanding change, tens of thousands of letters and calls from retailers to Congress and hundreds of personal visits our members made to congressional offices, both on Capitol Hill and in their hometowns."

Defeat of the amendment clears the path for the Federal Reserve€™s final rules on debit card reform €" due for release any day €" to become law on July 21. The reforms limit price-fixing by the nation€™s largest banks; they will now be required either to compete on their debit card swipe fees or charge an amount that is "reasonable and proportional" to their costs.

"While the banks continue to use fear tactics to mislead Americans about how this vote will affect them, the banking industry ironically is also a winner with today€™s vote," added Miller. "The Federal Reserve€™s proposed rules would still allow banks to make a reasonable, if not sizable, profit on debit transactions. A survey of banks by the Fed found that debit swipe costs averaged around 4 cents per transaction, and the final rules are expected to set rates at least 300 percent above that rate €" a profit margin that is unimaginable in our industry, which saw overall pretax profits of 1.1 percent in 2010."

While this historic vote remains the last hurdle for implementation of debit swipe fee reform, plenty of work remains, said Miller. "We will work with the Federal Reserve and Congress to ensure that this remains a win for consumers and we will continue to push for other reforms in our payments system."

Please Thank Your Senators
"This vote would not have been possible without the incredible grassroots action by NACS members, their colleagues, friends and families," said NACS Senior Vice President of Government Relations Lyle Beckwith. "NACS members have done an unprecedented job of making sure their voices were heard loud and clear through face-to-face meetings, phone calls and letters €" more than 30,000 letters through our NACS grassroots website alone €" asking senators to vote against the Tester-Corker amendment."