WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board has issued its final rule amending Regulation E allowing financial institutions to skip making a receipt available for purchases of $15 or less.

According to the Fed, consumer groups had argued for lowering the threshold to $5 so that vending machines and other small dollar automated purchases would be exempted. Small dollar industries, like vending machine operators, have complained that the cost of reconfiguring soda machines, metro fare card vendors, and others and printing receipts has kept them from accepting debit card payment.

On the other hand, credit unions and other financial institutions urged that the benchmark be increased to $25 as consumers become increasingly reliant on electronic funds transfers at electronic terminals. The $25 exemption would be consistent with the current exemption for some businesses for PIN or signature requirements on purchases under $25.

In setting the exemption level at $15 or less, the Fed wrote, “As discussed in the proposal, the Board believes that the $15 threshold strikes an appropriate balance between industry's need for flexibility to offer cashless payment options in a variety of retail environments and consumers' need for receipts in higher-dollar transactions.”

The compliance deadline is Aug. 6.