MPC In the News

U.S. Sun: SWIPE SCANDAL Visa and Mastercard speak out after $200b ‘swipe fees’ deal — but customers call it a ‘smoke and mirrors’ move

Bloomberg: Will Retailers Really Deny Premium Credit Cards?

“Visa and Mastercard keep thinking that they can fool the court,” said Doug Kantor, general counsel at the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member). “But there will be lots and lots of opposition explaining to the court that what Visa and Mastercard are trying to do doesn’t make sense and shouldn’t resolve the case.”

Cox Media: Visa, Mastercard reach $38B settlement with merchants over swipe costs

The National Retail Federation and the Merchants Payments Coalition said that businesses will still have to pay too much to allow the use of Visa and Mastercard. But they’re in a difficult position. Stores can either pay the fees or not accept about 80% of credit cards used, the groups said.

Retail Touchpoints: Merchants Protest Visa-Mastercard ‘Swipe Fee’ Settlement, Again

“Achieving a settlement that works to reverse current illegal and anticompetitive practices of Visa and Mastercard should be straightforward, but this attempt fails once again and should be rejected,” said Jennifer Hatcher, MPC Executive Committee member and Chief Public Policy Officer of the Food Industry Association in a statement. “The courts have emphatically rejected these settlements twice, but now the card industry is trying again to get legal protection while offering little in return to merchants. Under this proposal, Visa and Mastercard would get to keep fixing swipe fees while Main Street businesses and customers would pay the price.” Hatcher called the proposed fee reduction “miniscule” and pointed out that because it only applies to interchange — the portion of swipe fees that goes to card-issuing banks — Visa and Mastercard would still be able to raise their own fees without any limits.

The Paypers: Visa and Mastercard revise USD 38 billion swipe-fee settlement

With this new accord, merchants, including the NRF and the Merchants Payments Coalition, (voiced) opposition, saying that the concerns raised by the New York judge regarding violating US law are still not addressed. Additionally, those who oppose say that businesses will still be paying too much to accept the popular reward cards that dominate the card market.

Restaurant Business Magazine: Proposed swipe-fee settlement does little to resolve pain felt by restaurant industry merchants

Jennifer Hatcher, chief public policy officer at the Food Industry Association and a member of the executive committee at the Merchant Payments Coalition, urged the District Court to reject the current settlement as well. “Achieving a settlement that works to reverse current illegal and anticompetitive practices of Visa and Mastercard should be straightforward, but this attempt fails once again and should be rejected,” she said.

Total Retail: Visa, Mastercard Reach New Swipe Fee Settlement With Merchants; Opposition Voiced

In addition to the NRF, the Merchants Payments Coalition as well as the National Grocers Association argued that businesses would still pay too much in "swipe fees" to accept the popular credit cards that dominate the market. To provide context to the scale of this issue, swipe fees totaled $111.2 billion in the United States in 2024, up from $100.8 billion in 2023.

Court Cast: Visa and Mastercard Unveil $38 Billion Deal to End Swipe Fee War — But Retailers Aren’t Buying It

Merchant groups, led by the National Retail Federation and the Merchants Payments Coalition, are already calling foul, saying the proposal fails to fix the fundamental imbalance that has allowed the two payment giants to dominate the market for years. “You can’t just tell 80% of your card customers you won’t take their cards — that’s business suicide,” one retail representative said, summing up the frustration.

Global Data/Yahoo Finance: Visa, Mastercard agree to $38bn settlement over merchant fee dispute

Retail trade group in the US, National Retail Federation and the Merchants Payments Coalition have voiced that the agreement still leaves businesses paying disproportionately high charges, particularly on widely used rewards cards.

Retail Systems: Visa and Mastercard agree revised settlement to cut interchange fees and loosen card acceptance rules

Doug Kantor of the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPX) said the deal lets Visa and Mastercard raise fees they control, adding: “Merchants ought to be able to negotiate and get prices set with different banks, but this settlement prohibits that.”