The evidence for such a pattern is well established: In 2010, Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, introduced the Durbin Amendment as part of the Dodd-Frank overhaul of the financial system. The amendment was meant to lower merchant fees for processing debit cards; retailers like Walmart and Home Depot argued that the banks were gouging them, pushing prices up for consumers.
So what happened after the legislation was put into effect?
“Most large retailers have seen significant cost reductions as a result of the Durbin Amendment, yet to date there is no evidence that those cost savings have been passed through to consumers,” a study by the George Mason University School of Law said. Other academic research has come to the same conclusion.