Form FR 3064b FR 3064b PAYMENT CARD NETWORK SURVEY

FR 3064b
OMB No. 7100-0344
Approval expires December 31, 2014

PAYMENT CARD NETWORK SURVEY

Survey Period:
Calendar Year 2011

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General Instructions
About this Survey
Section 235.8 of the Federal Reserve Board’s Regulation II requires payment card networks to file reports
with the Board. This survey serves as this report. This survey solicits information from calendar year
2011 regarding (1) volumes and values of debit card transactions (including general-use prepaid card
transactions) processed by the network; (2) interchange fees paid by acquirers and received by issuers;
(3) network fees paid by acquirers and issuers; and (4) incentives paid to acquirers, merchants, and
issuers. For purposes of this survey, three-party systems are not included. If your organization has
both types of networks, complete a survey for each type of network.
Your Participation
To achieve the most reliable results, it is important that you respond completely and accurately. Please
leave no survey item blank.
There are three possible ways to answer a survey question:
Enter a Value: The actual numeric value of the data element.
Enter a Zero: When the calculated value equals zero. Please do not enter a non-numeric
value, e.g. “NA” or “NR,” when the value equals zero.
Enter “NR” (Not Reported): If your institution engages in the activity of the type being measured
but you are unable to report a figure that reflects that activity. Please do not enter “NA.”
If for any reason you cannot provide complete data or you have questions please contact Linda
Healey at 202-452-5274 or e-mail [email protected] for assistance.
The survey will be made available online at https://www.federalreserve.gov/debitcardsurveys.
Please complete the survey by March 16, 2012.
Response Confidentiality and Burden
The Federal Reserve Board regards the individual organization information provided by each respondent
as confidential (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4)). The Board, however, may publish aggregate or summary
information in a way that does not reveal your individual organization’s confidential information. If it
should be determined subsequently that any information collected on this form must be released, the
respondents will be notified.
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to be 75 hours per response,
including the time to gather data in the required form and to review instructions and complete the
information collection. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this
collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Secretary, Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551, or via e-mail to
[email protected]; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project
(7100- to-be-assigned), Washington, D.C. 20503. The Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and
an organization (or a person) is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.

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Section I:

Respondent Information

1. Name of network covered in this response

2. Contact person(s) by subsection of the survey for which responsible
Name

Email

Subsection

Phone

Name

Email

Subsection

Phone

Name

Email

Subsection

Phone

Name

Email

Subsection

Phone

3. Is your payment card network a single-message (PIN)
or dual-message (signature) network?

[ ] Singlemessage

[ ] Dualmessage

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

If your organization has both types of networks, complete a
survey for each type of network.

4. Does your payment card network offer an interchange fee
rate schedule that differentiates between exempt and
non-exempt issuers?
5. Number of merchant establishments (i.e., separate
locations) in the United States

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Section II: Debit Card Transactions
(including general-use prepaid card transactions)
Please enter totals only for transactions related to debit cards linked to U.S.-domiciled accounts involving a
merchant located in the United States during the calendar year (CY) 2011.
Include:

All debit card transactions (including general-use prepaid card transactions).
Both consumer and business card transactions.

Do Not Include: ATM or credit card transactions.

1. CY 2011 debit card transactions

Volume

Value ($)

Volume

Value ($)

1a. Settled purchase transactions (excluding preauthorizations, denials, adjustments, and returns)

Card-present vs. card-not-present transactions
1b. Allocate “1a. Settled purchase transactions”
between the following categories:

1a:

1a:

1b.1 + 1b.2 = 1a

1b.1 Card-present transactions
1b.2 Card-not-present transactions

CY 2011 chargebacks and returns

Volume

1c. Total chargebacks to acquirers
Report all chargebacks sent in CY 2011 regardless of the
date the original purchase transaction took place.

1d. Total returns to acquirers
Report all returns sent in CY 2011 regardless of the date
the original purchase transaction took place.

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Value ($)

Small issuer exemption:
Volume

Transactions using cards of exempt vs. nonexempt issuers
1e. Allocate “1a. Settled purchase transactions”
between the following categories:

1a:

Value ($)

1a:

1e.1 + 1e.2 + 1e.3 = 1a

1e.1 All settled purchase transactions between
January 1 and September 30, 2011
1e.2 Settled purchase transactions made with a debit
card issued by exempt issuers between
October 1 and December 31, 2011
1e.3 Settled purchase transactions made with a debit
card issued by non-exempt issuers between
October 1 and December 31, 2011
Transactions using cards of exempt vs. nonexempt issuers:
January 1, 2011 – September 30, 2011

Volume

1f. Allocate “1e.1 All settled purchase transactions
between January 1 and September 30, 2011” between
the following categories:
If necessary, use a reasonable estimate based on the
proportions of volume and value of transactions by exempt
and non-exempt issuers between October 1 and December
31, 2011.
1f.1 + 1f.2 = 1e.1

1f.1 Settled purchase transactions made with a debit
card issued between January 1 and September
30, 2011, by an issuer considered exempt on
October 1, 2011
1f.2 Settled purchase transactions made with a debit
card issued between January 1 and September
30, 2011, by an issuer considered nonexempt on October 1, 2011

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1e.1:

Value ($)
1e.1:

Volume

General-use prepaid card transactions vs. all
other debit card transactions
1g. Allocate “1a. Settled purchase transactions”
between the following categories:

1a:

Value ($)

1a:

1g.1 + 1g.2 = 1a

1g.1 General-use prepaid card transactions
1g.2 All other debit card transactions
General-use prepaid card exemption:
Exempt vs. non-exempt general-use prepaid
card transactions
1h. Allocate “1g.1 General-use prepaid card
transactions” between the following categories:
1h.1 + 1h.2 +1h.3 = 1g.1

1h.1 All general-use prepaid card transactions
between January 1 and September 30, 2011
1h.2 General-use prepaid card transactions exempt
from the interchange fee standards between
October 1 and December 31, 2011
1h.3 General-use prepaid card transactions not
exempt from the interchange fee standards
between October 1 and December 31, 2011

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Volume

1g.1:

Value ($)

1g.1:

2. CY 2011 interchange fees

Dollars ($)

2a. Interchange fees paid by acquirers and
received by issuers (gross interchange fees)
2a.1 Interchange fees reimbursed to acquirers as a
result of chargebacks
Report all chargebacks sent in CY 2011 regardless
of the date the original purchase transaction took
place.

2a.2 Interchange fees reimbursed to acquirers as a
result of returns
Report all returns sent in CY 2011 regardless of the
date the original purchase transaction took place.

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Interchange fees on chargebacks
2b. For cases when a chargeback involves an entire
transaction, does your payment card network refund to
acquirers all the interchange fees?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

2b.1 If your answer to 2b. was “No” does your
payment card network refund to acquirers any
or all of the ad valorem component of the
interchange fees for these types of
chargebacks?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

2b.2 If your answer to 2b. was “No” does your
payment card network refund to acquirers any
or all of the fixed per-transaction component of
the interchange fees for these types of
chargebacks?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

2c. For cases when a chargeback involves only a portion
of the transaction, does your payment card network
refund to acquirers all the interchange fees?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

2c.1 If your answer to 2c. was “No” does your
payment card network refund to acquirers any
or all of the ad valorem component of the
interchange fees for these types of
chargebacks?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

2c.2 If your answer to 2c. was “No” does your
payment card network refund to acquirers any
or all of the fixed per-transaction component of
the interchange fees for these types of
chargebacks?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

If your answer is “Yes” proceed to question 2c.

If your answer is “Yes” proceed to question 2d.

Please provide any explanatory comments you believe may be necessary for 2b and 2c:

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Interchange fees on returns
2d. For cases when a customer returns an entire
purchase transaction to a merchant, does your
payment card network refund to acquirers all the
interchange fees?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

2d.1 If your answer to 2d. was “No” does your
payment card network refund to acquirers any
or all of the ad valorem component of the
interchange fees for these types of returns?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

2d.2 If your answer to 2d. was “No” does your
payment card network refund to acquirers any
or all of the fixed per-transaction component of
the interchange fees for these types of returns?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

2e. For cases when a customer returns only a portion of a
purchase transaction to a merchant, does your
payment card network refund to acquirers all the
interchange fees?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

2e.1 If your answer to 2e. was “No” does your
payment card network refund to acquirers any
or all of the ad valorem component of the
interchange fees for these types of returns?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

2e.2 If your answer to 2e. was “No” does your
payment card network refund to acquirers any
or all of the fixed per-transaction component of
the interchange fees for these types of returns?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

If your answer is “Yes” proceed to question 2e.

If your answer is “Yes” proceed to question 2f.

Please provide any explanatory comments you believe may be necessary for 2d and 2e:

Card-present vs. card-not-present interchange
fees
2f. Allocate “2a. Interchange fees paid by
acquirers and received by issuers” between
the following categories:
2f.1 + 2f.2 = 2a

2f.1 Interchange fees on card-present
transactions
2f.2 Interchange fees on card-not-present
transactions

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Dollars ($)

2a:

Small issuer exemption:
Interchange fees on transactions using cards of
exempt vs. non-exempt issuers
2g. Allocate “2a. Interchange fees paid by
acquirers and received by issuers” between
the following categories:

Dollars ($)

2a:

2g.1 + 2g.2 + 2g.3 = 2a

2g.1 All interchange fees paid to issuers between
January 1 and September 30, 2011
2g.2 Interchange fees paid to exempt issuers
between October 1 and December 31, 2011
2g.3 Interchange fees paid to non-exempt issuers
between October 1 and December 31, 2011
Interchange fees on transactions using cards of
exempt vs. non-exempt issuers:
January 1, 2011 – September 30, 2011

Dollars ($)

2h. Allocate “2g.1 All interchange fees paid to issuers
between January 1 and September 30, 2011” between
the following categories:
If necessary, use a reasonable estimate based on the
proportion of interchange fee revenue received by exempt
and non-exempt issuers between October 1 and December
31, 2011.
2h.1 + 2h.2 = 2g.1

2h.1 Interchange fees paid between January 1 and
September 30, 2011, to an issuer considered
exempt on October 1, 2011
2h.2 Interchange fees paid between January 1 and
September 30, 2011, to an issuer considered
non-exempt on October 1, 2011

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2g.1:

General-use prepaid card transactions vs. all
other debit card transactions
2i. Allocate “2a. Interchange fees paid by
acquirers and received by issuers” between
the following categories:

Dollars ($)

2a:

2i.1 + 2i.2 = 2a

2i.1 Interchange fees on general-use prepaid
card transactions
2i.2 Interchange fees on all other debit card
transactions

General-use prepaid card exemption:
Interchange fees on exempt vs. non-exempt
card transactions
2j. Allocate “2i.1 Interchange fees on general-use
prepaid card transactions” between the following
categories:
2j.1 + 2j.2 + 2j.3 = 2i.1

2j.1 All interchange fees on general-use prepaid
card transactions between January 1 and
September 30, 2011
2j.2 Interchange fees on exempt general-use
prepaid card transactions between October 1
and December 31, 2011
2j.3 Interchange fees on non-exempt general-use
prepaid card transactions between October 1
and December 31, 2011

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Dollars ($)

2i.1:

3. CY 2011 network fees

Dollars ($)

3a. Network fees received from acquirers and
issuers

Network fees received from acquirers vs.
issuers
3b. Allocate “3a. Network fees received from
acquirers and issuers” between the following
categories:
3b.1 + 3b.2 = 3a

3b.1 Network fees received from acquirers
3b.2 Network fees received from issuers

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Dollars ($)

3a:

Small issuer exemption:
Network fees received from exempt vs. nonexempt issuers
3c. Allocate “3b.2. Network fees received from issuers”
between the following categories:

Dollars ($)

3b.2:

3c.1 + 3c.2 + 3c.3 = 3b.2

3c.1 All network fees received from issuers that
settled between January 1 and September 30,
2011
3c.2 Network fees received from exempt issuers
that settled between October 1 and December
31, 2011
3c.3 Network fees received from non-exempt
issuers that settled between October 1 and
December 31, 2011
Network fees received from exempt vs. nonexempt issuers:
January 1, 2011 – September 30, 2011

Dollars ($)

3d. Allocate “3c.1 All network fees received from issuers
that settled between January 1 and September 30,
2011” between the following categories:
If necessary, use a reasonable estimate based on the
proportion of total network fees received from exempt and
non-exempt issuers between October 1 and December 31,
2011.
3d.1 + 3d.2 = 3c.1

3d.1 Network fees settled between January 1 and
September 30, 2011, received from issuers
considered exempt on October 1, 2011
3d.2 Network fees settled between January 1 and
September 30, 2011, received from issuers
considered non-exempt on October 1, 2011

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3c.1:

4. CY 2011 payments and incentives paid by
network to acquirers, merchants, and issuers
4a.

Payments and incentives paid by network
to acquirers, merchants, and issuers

4b.

Allocate “4a. Payments and incentives paid
by network to acquirers, merchants, and
issuers” between the following categories:
4b.1 + 4b.2 = 4a

4b.1

Payments and incentives paid to acquirers
and merchants

4b.2

Payments and incentives paid to issuers

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Dollars ($)

4a:

Small issuer exemption:
Payments and incentives paid to exempt vs.
non-exempt issuers
4c. Allocate “4b.2 Payments and incentives paid to
issuers” between the following categories

Dollars ($)

4b.2:

4c.1 + 4c.2 + 4c.3= 4b.2

4c.1 All payments and incentives paid to issuers
between January 1 and September 30, 2011
4c.2 Payments and incentives paid to exempt
issuers between October 1 and December 31,
2011
4c.3 Payments and incentives paid to non-exempt
issuers between October 1 and December 31,
2011
Payments and incentives paid to exempt vs.
non-exempt issuers:
January 1, 2011 – September 30, 2011

Dollars ($)

4d. Allocate “4c.1 All payments and incentives paid to
issuers between January 1 and September 30, 2011”
between the following categories:
Use actual values only. Do not estimate.
4d.1 + 4d.2 = 4c.1

4d.1 Payments and incentives paid between January
1 and September 30, 2011, to issuers
considered exempt on October 1, 2011
4d.2 Payments and incentives paid between January
1 and September 30, 2011, to issuers
considered non-exempt on October 1, 2011

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4c.1:

Glossary of Terms
Acquirer: A person that contracts directly or indirectly with a merchant to provide settlement for the
merchant’s electronic debit transactions over a payment card network. An acquirer does not include
a person that acts only as a processor for the services it provides to the merchant.
Card-not-present transaction: Settled purchase transaction where the purchaser does not
physically present the card to the merchant, such as an Internet, telephone, or mail order transaction.
Card-present transaction: Settled purchase transaction that is not a card-not-present transaction.
Chargeback to acquirer: The reversal of the dollar value of a particular transaction, in whole or in
part, by the card issuer to the acquirer. A chargeback may be for, but not limited to, one of the
following reasons: customer disputes, fraud, processing errors, authorization issues, and nonfulfillment of copy requests.
Debit card: Any card or other payment code or device, issued or approved for use through a payment
card network to debit an account, regardless of the means of authorization, and regardless of whether
the issuer holds the account. A debit card includes any general-use prepaid card. It does not include
(1) any card or other payment code or device that is redeemable upon presentation at only a single
merchant, or an affiliated group of merchants for goods or services, or (2) a check draft or similar
paper instrument, or an electronic representation thereof.
Debit card transaction: Use of a debit card (including a general-use prepaid card) by a person as a
form of payment in the United States to initiate a debit to an account. It does not include transactions
initiated at an ATM.
Dual-message (signature) transaction: Transaction type by which authorization information is
carried in one message and clearing information is carried in a separate message.
Exempt general-use prepaid card transaction: Transaction using a general-use prepaid card
that is exempt from the interchange fee standards in Regulation II, specifically (1) a transaction made
using a general-use prepaid card that has been provided to a person pursuant to a federal, state, or
local government-administered payment program through which the cardholder may use the debit
card only to transfer or debit funds, monetary value, or other assets that have been provided pursuant
to such program; (2) a transaction made using a general-use prepaid card that is (i) not issued or
approved for use to access or debit any account held by or for the benefit of the cardholder (other
than a subaccount or other method of recording or tracking funds purchased or loaded on the card on
a prepaid basis), (ii) reloadable and not marketed or labeled as a gift card or gift certificate, and (iii)
the only means of access to the underlying funds, except when all remaining funds are provided to
the cardholder in a single transaction.
Exempt issuer: An issuer is exempt from the interchange fee standards for CY 2011 if that issuer has
total worldwide banking and nonbanking assets, including assets of affiliates, other than trust assets
under management, that are less than $10 billion, as of December 31, 2010.
General-use prepaid card: A card or other payment code or device that is (1) issued on a prepaid
basis in a specified amount, whether or not that amount may be increased or reloaded, in exchange
for payment and (2) redeemable upon presentation at multiple unaffiliated merchants for goods or
services.
Interchange fees paid by acquirers and received by issuers: Any fee established, charged,
or received by a payment card network and paid by a merchant or an acquirer for the purpose of
compensating an issuer for its involvement in the debit card transaction.
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Issuer: Any person that authorizes the use of a debit card to perform an electronic debit transaction.
Merchant establishments: For a specific payment card network, the number of locations at which
merchants accept payments on that network in the United States. For chains, report each location of
the chain separately. For example, if a chain has 25 locations then report 25 establishments for that
chain.
Network fees received from acquirers and issuers: Total switch fees and other fees charged
by card networks, including both fixed fees and per-transactions fees. Exclude fees for optional
services related to transaction processing that may be provided by a card network or an affiliate of a
card network.
Payments and incentives paid by network to acquirers, merchants, and issuers:
Payments made by the payment card network to acquirers, merchants, and issuers with respect to
debit card transactions or debit-card-related activity. Acquirer, merchant, and issuer incentives may
be based on reaching specified volume levels, marketing activities that promote the network’s brand,
converting the issuer’s debit card base to a different signature network, or other activities. Exclude
payments that a network pays an issuer for traditional banking services the issuer provides the
network (e.g., transaction account services to the network).
Return to acquirer: A transaction, in whole or in part, that is returned to an acquirer for the return of
goods and services by the cardholder.
Settled purchase transaction: A debit card transaction that has been settled. Exclude
transactions that are pre-authorizations, denials, adjustments, and returns.
Single-message (PIN) transaction: Transaction type by which authorization and clearing
information is carried in one message.
Three-party systems: Systems where debit transactions are processed by an entity that acts as
system operator and issuer, and may also act as the acquirer.
United States: The states, territories, and possessions of the U.S., the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any political subdivision of any of the foregoing.

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