Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase held preliminary discussions to acquire a payments network from Fiserv. The deal aims to bypass federal debit-card transaction fee caps mandated by the 2010 Durbin Amendment.
Owning the routing network would exempt large financial institutions from current fee limitations. This move could significantly increase bank revenue and reshape the U.S. payments landscape.
Talks remain in early and tentative stages. Several banks reportedly withdrew from negotiations due to potential backlash from regulators, lawmakers, and merchants.