The Durbin Amendment is a provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted in 2010. It aims to regulate the fees that banks charge merchants for processing debit card transactions. Specifically, it requires that these interchange fees be "reasonable and proportional" to the cost of processing the transaction, which helps lower costs for retailers and, potentially, consumers. By capping these fees, the Durbin Amendment seeks to promote competition and transparency in the payment processing industry. It also encourages the use of alternative payment methods, benefiting smaller businesses that may struggle with high transaction costs imposed by larger banks and card networks like Visa and Mastercard.