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Dec. 30, 2013 – A federal appeals court judge on Friday granted NAFCU and other amici time to participate in oral arguments Jan. 17 on the Federal Reserve Board's appeal in the debit interchange lawsuit filed by merchants.

Amici parties, in seeking to participate in oral arguments, cited their members' direct stake in the litigation.

The Fed is appealing a July 31 ruling by federal district court Judge Richard Leon overturning the regulation that implements the Durbin amendment of the Dodd-Frank Act.

The law required the Fed to set a debit interchange fee that is reasonable and proportional, and applied only to institutions with more than $10 billion, and to bar network exclusivity.

Leon rejected the fee cap – 21 cents per transaction plus 1 cent for fraud costs – as being too high and said the network non-exclusivity provisions are inadequate. He granted a stay pending appeal.

NAFCU, which holds the current fee cap to be too low, filed with other amici in support of the Fed's appeal.