Increase in merchant card fees postponed

Visa Inc. is delaying plans to increase the fees U.S. merchants pay when consumers use credit cards online, pushing changes to April 2022 due to the pandemic.

Visa “won’t make any rate changes in the United States for another year as the economy recovers,” the company said in an emailed statement.

Mastercard Inc. said on Tuesday it was also delaying fee change plans until April 2022, vowing it would “keep thinking” when it comes time to implement the changes.

Retailers have called for a postponement of the fee hike, hoping to avoid rising card acceptance costs at a time when many consumers depend on online shopping.

When Visa first unveiled the changes, it said the rate of so-called cardless transactions, which include those done online or over the phone, would increase. For a traditional Visa card, the fees on a $ 100 transaction would jump to $ 1.99 from $ 1.90. For Visa premium cards, the fees would drop from $ 2.50 to $ 2.60.

Report finds low rate of foreclosures

Lender moratoria keep foreclosures at unprecedented levels.

In February, only 11,281 home foreclosure notices were recorded nationwide, down 77% from the previous year, according to the latest report from Attom Data Solutions.

“Extensions to the federal government’s foreclosure moratorium and the CARES Act mortgage forbearance program continue to keep foreclosure activity at an all-time low,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of Realty-Trac, an Attom Data Solutions company, in the report. “These government actions, and the efforts of lenders and mortgage service companies, have helped millions of homeowners avoid foreclosure amid a year-long global pandemic and recession that resulted in the loss of 22 million jobs. ” About 2.6 million U.S. homeowners are still receiving forbearance from lenders due to the pandemic.

Across the country, lenders repossessed 1,545 properties in February.

After a drop of 7.47, the index now stands at 595.59

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the state’s largest public companies, closed Tuesday at 595.59, down 7.47.

“A mixed session on Wall Street on Tuesday, as investors await the results of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting… and a slight battle between a stock market that has just reached record highs and growing concerns regarding rising inflation and interest rates, ”said Chris Harkins, Managing Director of Raymond James & Associates.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of December 30, 1997.

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