With consumer spending up nearly 9% from holiday shopping, what exactly did the banks earn and how much did retailers have to pass along to Visa and MasterCard for credit and debit card transactions?
Because merchant interchange fees are an elusive component of bank profits, and because there are nearly one-hundred separate charges, it is anyone's guess how well the banks did from soaring holiday shopping. We know that MasterCard Advisors, a unit of MasterCard International said that holiday shopping was up 8.7% ahead of last year.
[source: WayTooHigh.com]
