Sunday, October 18, 2009

Two sides to every story

Regulators are currently considering capping "swipe fees" levied by credit card companies each time something is purchased using plastic. The House of Representatives is looking at a bill to cap these fees, which are 1.5-2% of an average purchase in America--high by rich-world standards.

At first, regulation seems like a good idea, because firms that run card-payment systems look like other utilities, which have long been subject to price caps. However, this is not necessarily the case. The payment card system is a "two-sided" market--consumers choose credit cards that are widely accepted, and merchants accept cards that are widely used. It helps to think of this in another context. Consider bars that charge men more than women: men are more likely to go to bars visited by a lot of women.

This is a very delicate balance, and changes on one side will affect the other. Trustbusters are still worried about these two-sided markets, though. In spite of no compelling case for regulation, they may still act to cap fees in the future.

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