Debit Card Rewards Slashed

U.S. Bank has reduced its debit card rewards program by cutting its cash rebate to 0.25 percent, down from rebates as high as one percent. The bank is the nation's largest debit card issuer, depending on how much was purchased during the year. According to the article in the Wall Street Journal by Kathy Chu, the bank has renamed its program "Cash Bonus Visa Check Card", from "Checking That Pays." Pat Wesner, an executive vice president at the bank, explained that the shift reflected the decline in the expected revenue opportunities (from merchants accepting the cards) as a result of the bank card associations' recent loss in the Wal Mart lawsuit. Many other banks are adjusting their debit card rewards program. (See Spotlight for June, 2003).