The K5-5th grade children’s Sunday school is at 9:45 a.m. for children who will worship alongside their family and friends at either 8:30 or 11 a.m. services. Classes will be available to preschoolers during all three hours if you are not involved in an Adult Sunday School class.
Greer Business Luncheon is Oct. 20
The Greer Business Luncheon is scheduled Oct. 20 from 11:50 a.m. – 12:50 p.m. at Greer First Baptist Church. The theme will be “Breaking Bad Habits”.
The luncheon features a meal, cost is $7 each person, provides excellent networking and a brief program of music with inspiration and motivation led by Pastor Rick Ezell. Individuals are invited to bring cards/flyers/brochures to the meeting for others to pick up.
October’s meal includes chicken casserole, green beans, salad, dessert, and beverage. Call 877-4253 by noon Tuesday, Oct. 18.
Swipe fee regulations begin for large financial institutions
The Federal Reserve regulations cut debit card swipe fees virtually in half beginning last Saturday.
Under Fed regulations made final this summer, the “swipe” fees the nation’s largest banks charge merchants to process debit card purchases will be capped at no more than 21 cents per transaction – plus 0.05 percent of the purchase price and, in most cases, an additional 1 cent for fraud prevention. That compares with 1-2 percent of the transaction – about 44 cents on the average retail purchase but several dollars on bigger-ticket items – under current fees.
Debit card swipe fees currently total about $20 billion annually, and analysts have estimated the cap will save merchants and their customers about $7 billion. Small and mid-size financial institutions with less than $10 billion in assets are exempt.
Even though the regulations set caps, precise fee schedules will still be up to the card companies and processors. The cap amounts to 27 cents on a $100 transaction, or about one-sixth the $1.50 collected under the current fee schedule. But the cap comes to 22 cents on a $2 soda or cup of coffee, for example, that currently carries a fee of only 8 cents.
Bank of America takes a $5 ‘swipe’ at debit card accounts
Bank of America said it will impose a $5-per-month fee on most of its debit card accounts in a policy that would begin in early 2012.
The fee is an effort to recoup revenue lost with new bank rules that take effect this month that limit fees banks can charge retailers when customers use debit cards to make retail purchases -- a charge known as a swipe fee. Customers will be alerted with at least 30 days’ notice.
The charge will not apply to debit cards used for cash withdrawals at automatic teller machines, reports indicate.
Standard & Poor’s recognizes Scio Diamond
The Editorial Board of Standard and Poor's (S&P) approved Greer’s Scio Diamond Technology Corporation (OTC: BB: SCIO) for S&P’s Corporation Records Market Access Program.
SCIO's corporate profile has recently been published in the Daily News Section of S&P's Corporation Records, a recognized securities manual for secondary trading in 38 States under the Blue Sky Laws.
Joseph Lancia, CEO of Scio Diamond Technology, said, “Through Standard and Poor's program, Scio's company information, including its business operations, share price, dividend history, shares outstanding, financial position, and earnings, will be broadly disseminated through S&P's MarketScope, Advisor Insight and Stock Guide Database distribution channels.”