Chase to end rewards for debit card use

Published 12:01 am Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Put another nail in the coffin for debit card rewards. Chase is notifying customers that they will no longer be able to earn points after July 19. The points accrued up until then will not expire.

Chase had already closed off enrollment in the rewards program to new customers as of Feb. 8. Chase says it’s ending the program because of a regulation that will sharply limit the fees it can collect from merchants whenever customers swipe their debit cards.

The cap on the debit swipe fees banks can collect was mandated last year under the financial overhaul known as the Dodd-Frank Act. A proposal would cap fees at 12 cents per transaction, versus the existing 1 percent to 2 percent of the transaction amount.

The banking industry says the change could slash its debit swipe fee revenue by as much as 90 percent. A final rule is expected from the Federal Reserve by April 21, unless Congress delays the deadline.

Associated Press