Gas Retailers Gained a $1 Billion Subsidy from Durbin Amendment

New data finds that gas retailers are saving a $1 billion annually at the expense of consumers, thanks to the so-called “Durbin amendment,” a provision of the Dodd-Frank legislation which capped what retailers pay to accept debit cards beginning in October 2011.  According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, nearly 134 billion gallons of gas were sold in 2011, with approximately 48 billion gallons purchased using debit – the type of payment impacted by the Durbin amendment, which reduced interchange rates by about 70 percent for this category.