MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
        • Accounts Payable
          Finally! The trick to securing greater T&E compliance
          Benefits
          Rooting out folks who don’t belong on your health plan: A 6-point dependent audit checklist
          IT
          3 costly misconceptions about biz email compromise
          Credit and Collections
          Collecting via email: 4 must-make moves in your subject line
          Accounts Payable
          5 Tough-to-spot signs that an invoice is fake
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • Staff management
          120 Proven Communications Tips for Today’s CFO
        • Payroll
          Handling Nonexempt Employee Pay: Stay Compliant and Avoid DOL Audits
          Accounts Payable
          T&E Best Practices: Complete Guide to Ensure Compliance
          Payroll
          Payroll Best Practices: 4 Ways to Save Time and Money
        • Staff management
          Email Best Practices: A 6-Question Quiz
          Staff management
          Innovative Communications Strategies: An Email Case Study
          Staff management
          A 5-part Framework for Successful Workplace Communications
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
  • LOGIN
  • SIGN UP FREE

CFO Daily News

MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
        • Accounts Payable
          Finally! The trick to securing greater T&E compliance
          Benefits
          Rooting out folks who don’t belong on your health plan: A 6-point dependent audit checklist
          IT
          3 costly misconceptions about biz email compromise
          Credit and Collections
          Collecting via email: 4 must-make moves in your subject line
          Accounts Payable
          5 Tough-to-spot signs that an invoice is fake
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • Staff management
          120 Proven Communications Tips for Today’s CFO
        • Payroll
          Handling Nonexempt Employee Pay: Stay Compliant and Avoid DOL Audits
          Accounts Payable
          T&E Best Practices: Complete Guide to Ensure Compliance
          Payroll
          Payroll Best Practices: 4 Ways to Save Time and Money
        • Staff management
          Email Best Practices: A 6-Question Quiz
          Staff management
          Innovative Communications Strategies: An Email Case Study
          Staff management
          A 5-part Framework for Successful Workplace Communications
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
  • Accounts Payable
  • Credit and Collections
  • Payroll
  • Accounting
  • Benefits
  • Finance Technology
  • More
    • Employment Law
    • Strategy
    • Policy and Culture
    • Fraud
    • Payments and Transactions
    • Budgeting and Forecasting
    • Banking
    • Staff Management
    • Cost Control
    • Supply Chain
    • IT

3 areas where you’ll feel the financial reform bill first

Jennifer Azara
by Jennifer Azara
July 9, 2010
  • Payments and Transactions
  • Strategy
2 minute read
  • SHARE ON

The financial reform bill’s basically a done deal. So how will it change your day-to-day job?

First the good news: Unless you work in the financial services industry, your job isn’t about to be turned on its head. In fact, many of those folks may not feel too much either, since many of the bill’s “get-tough” provisions were made a little less tough to get the votes needed to get it through.

And everybody’s got a little time on most fronts: New agencies will be formed and more regs are needed to implement many of the changes aimed at overhauling the financial system.

But there are a few changes finance departments will feel a lot sooner, no matter what industry you’re in. And they’re in these three areas:

  1. Credit card payments
  2. Bank fees, and
  3. Credit policies.

Change #1: Credit card payments

One major target of the reform efforts could result in a cash flow win for your company: credit cards.

First, if you’ve been getting hit by those 1-2% “swipe fees” from big banks when customers pay with a debit card, you should start saving soon. The Fed has the right to limit those fees the card issuers charge, starting the day after the bill is signed into law.

The Fed has also been charged with issuing rules to ensure that interchange fees are in proportion with the cost of processing those transactions.

With that major downside eliminated, your company should be free to take more credit cards, which can lead to an instant cash flow boost.

Change #2: Bank fees

But  banks are going to have to make up that money somewhere! And one of the biggest changes expected to come out of the financial reform bill is increased bank fees. So if your company currently enjoys free checking, those days are most likely numbered. Many small businesses have received this freebie for years.

It’s smart to budget more for treasury in 2011 – banks are expected to start yanking this convenience and adding other fees in the next six to 12 months.

Change #3: Credit policies

One specific finance department in business-to-consumer firms will have to “reform” its procedures thanks to the new law: Credit.

Going forward, if your company denies credit to a potential customer based on what it hears from a ratings agency, you will have to disclose the reason – and even the score.

That may inject a little time (and possibly a lot of aggravation) into your process.

Other changes are bound to unfold – stay tuned.

Info: Here is the The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173).

Jennifer Azara
Jennifer Azara
Jennifer, a member of the CFO Daily News staff, has covered business and finance for more than 22 years. She has written for CFOs, credit and collections professionals and accounts payable practitioners and has spoken at industry conferences on sales and use tax compliance.

Keep Up To Date with the Latest Finance News

With CFO Daily News arriving in your inbox, you will never miss critical stories on accounting, benefits, payroll & employment law strategies.

Sign up for a free CFO Daily News membership and get our newsletter!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
CFO Daily News Logo
  • ABOUT CFO DAILY NEWS
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WRITE FOR US
  • CONTACT
  • Accounting
  • Benefits
  • Payroll
  • Policy and Culture
  • Employment Law
  • Fraud
  • Finance Technology
  • Accounts Payable
  • Credit and Collections
  • Strategy
  • Payments and Transactions
  • Budgeting and Forecasting
  • Banking
  • Staff Management
  • Cost Control
  • Supply Chain
  • IT

CFO Daily News, part of the SuccessFuel Network, provides the latest Finance and employment law news for Finance professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day’s headlines, CFO Daily News delivers actionable insights, helping Finance execs understand what Finance trends mean to their business.

Privacy Policy Terms of Service
Copyright © 2021 SuccessFuel

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In

preloader