TCF takes its bank fees lawsuit to a different court

TCF Bank is trying once again to to block imminent cuts in the fees banks charge retailers for debit card transactions.

The Fed has proposed a 12-cent cap on the fees TCF and other large banks charge merchants for debit card transactions. The cap is supposed to start this summer.

But TCF has sued the Fed, hoping to get the fee cuts declared unconstitutional. A federal court in South Dakota rejected TCF's request to block the fee cuts while the bank's lawsuit against the Fed proceeds.

TCF is asking the appeals court in St. Louis to halt the fee cuts for now. The bank said a hearing date for its appeal has not been set.

TCF says the Fed's planned action could cost the bank about $80 million a year. Nationwide, banks collect billions of dollars in debit card fees from retailers annually.

Retailers complain the fees are exorbitant, generally ranging between one and two percent of a transaction.

"It is what we did last time, just to a new court," said Jason Korstange, a TCF spokesman. "And we believe we'll get a hearing on it and hopefully an expedited decision, once both sides are heard."