MasterCard And Visa Spike On Swipe Fee Ruling

Shares of credit card companies MasterCard MA and Visa V have spiked on a ruling from the Federal Reserve on swipe fees. The ruling appears to be a compromise between the Fed and the credit card companies. The original swipe fee that retailers had to pay banks for processing debit card transactions was $0.44. The new rate will be capped at $0.22, which is not as advantageous for Visa and MasterCard and banks as the old $0.44, but better than the $0.12 that retailers had been lobbying for. Both Visa and MasterCard have jumped on this news, with V adding 9.05% to $82.04 and MA moving up 6.75% to $297.71.