Following the lead of other big banks, SunTrust Banks Inc. is ending rewards for its primary debit card.
The Atlanta bank began notifying clients a few weeks ago that it would stop offering SunTrust Rewards on check card purchases starting April 15. Customers will have until December 31 to redeem their rewards.
Other banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., are doing away with various parts of their debit rewards programs. JPMorgan Chase explicitly blamed the Durbin amendment, which led the Federal Reserve Board to propose a 12-cent cap on the interchange fees banks earn on such purchases.
JPMorgan Chase said this month that customers will no longer be able to earn points on debit purchases after July 19. The points will not expire, however. The bank stopped issuing debit rewards cards to new customers in February.
"The proposed regulations, as they currently stand, impact the economics of the industry's check card programs," said SunTrust spokesman Hugh Suhr in an email to American Banker.
The bank's Delta SkyMiles Check Card will continue to offer rewards, as will SunTrust credit cards, Suhr said.
