US Senate imposes new credit card rules

The US Senate aimed a body blow at a lucrative bank business by voting to force credit card companies to reduce fees for debit card transactions and allow retailers to offer customer discounts based on the payment method.

The 64-33 vote inserted the fee requirement in a package of new financial rules the Senate is considering to ward off a repeat of the financial crisis.

The vote was a major defeat for banks, which had lobbied hard against it.

The measure from Democratic senator Richard Durbin would force credit card companies to charge businesses less for debit card transactions than for credit card payments.