Retail Litigation Center Leads Debit Fee Cap Fight in Courts

02/25/2026

Washington, D.C. — The Retail Litigation Center (RLC) led a coalition of trade associations in filing an amicus brief in Corner Post, Inc. v. Federal Reserve at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit arguing that the Federal Reserve Board exceed its authority when calculating debit interchange fees.

Regulation II, the challenged regulation, governs billions of debit transactions that occur each year at the RLC’s and other amici’s member businesses. Because Reg. II improperly includes costs that Congress did not authorize as part of the Durbin Amendment, businesses have been forced to pay billions of dollars in inflated fees.

“Regulation II’s inflated fee cap operates as nothing more than a vehicle to redistribute money from businesses and consumers to banks,” said Monica Welt, RLC President. “By permitting costs beyond what Congress intended, the regulation places an undue financial burden on merchants and, ultimately, on American consumers. This overreach not only undermines legislative intent but also threatens the transparency and fairness that the Durbin Amendment was designed to ensure.”

The amicus brief was joined by FMI, The Food Industry Association; Merchant Advisory Group; National Association of Convenience Stores; National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, Inc.; Restaurant Law Center; Arkansas Retailers Association; Iowa Retail Federation; Kentucky Retail Federation; Michigan Retailers Association; Minnesota Retailers Association; and Missouri Retailers Association.

Adam Unikowsky of Jenner & Block served as counsel and drafted the brief.

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Directed by the chief legal officers of the country's leading retail companies, the Retail Litigation Center (RLC) is the only organization dedicated to advocating for the industry's top priorities in the federal and state judiciary. The RLC also works with leading law firms and retail corporate counsel to develop forward-thinking strategies to combat meritless mass action litigation. Founded by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) in 2010 as an independent organization, the RLC is a 501(c)(6) membership association open to all retailers and select law firms.