Last updated on December 5th, 2016 at 09:14 am
Food Marketing Institute (FMI) President and CEO Leslie Sarasin issued the following statement on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) investigation into concerns that Visa’s confusing screens at checkout have inhibited the routing choice and competition guaranteed by federal law: “FMI is pleased to see Visa change its rules on the confusing EMV debit screens at checkout.”
FMI, on behalf of its members and their customers, has registered complaints with the FTC and the Federal Reserve Board arguing that Visa’s requirement that the customer choose between “Visa debit” and “U.S. debit” is confusing and limits shoppers’ ability to get cash back or enter a Personal Identification Number.
FMI points out that, in addition to being confusing to customers, the screens violate existing competition law and implementing regulations.
According to FMI, with pressure from an FTC investigation and a push from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Visa has indicated it will revise its rules.
“While Visa’s actions to change its rules to comply with the law are a significant step in the right direction, it will take some time for grocers who have the confusing screens to replace them. Therefore, FMI requests that Visa prevent additional exposure to liability while merchants revise their systems to ensure customers have the safest, most secure and most efficient transactions,” said Sarasin.
