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Oct. 21, 2013 – NAFCU and other amici in the debit interchange rule lawsuit are due to file a brief today supporting the Fed's appeal in a case challenging the Fed's debit interchange rule, which remains in effect throughout the appeal process.

Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit received and granted a motion filed jointly by all parties in this suit for an expedited schedule for briefing and consideration of the appeal. D.C. district court Judge Richard Leon also issued an order that grants the parties' earlier motion for stay of his July 31 ruling declaring the Fed's rule invalid.

Leon said the current rule will remain in place "until further order of this Court following a ruling on the Board's appeal."

The Fed is due to file its brief in the appeal today. The schedule for briefing in this case gives merchants until Nov. 20 to file their response to the Fed's brief. The Fed will have until Dec. 4 to respond to that.

Leon, in his July 31 ruling, said the Fed's rule is illegal because the Fed considered prohibited factors in setting a debit interchange fee cap. He also said the Fed's provisions against network exclusivity were inadequate.

The fee cap, 21 cents per transaction plus 1 cent for anti-fraud costs, applies directly only to debit card issuers that have more than $10 billion in assets, but market forces are expected to bring the fees down for all issuers over time.