In The News

The Street: Visa, Mastercard offer $38 billion deal to end long swipe-fee battle

Many trade groups — including the NRF and the Merchants Payments Coalition — oppose the settlement, arguing it doesn’t solve the underlying problem of rising card costs.

CNBC: What the Visa, Mastercard legal settlement means for your rewards credit card

Merchants have been battling with card issuers over what they’ve called a “cartel-like pricing practice” for two decades, according to Doug Kantor, an executive committee member at the Merchants Payments Coalition.

Payments Dive: 8 pros, cons of Visa-Mastercard pact

Swipe fees on Visa and Mastercard credit cards totaled a record $111.2 billion last year, 11% higher than in 2023 and triple the cost a decade earlier, the Merchant Payments Coalition said in March, citing data from the Nilson Report.

Bloomberg: Banks Versus Merchants Carries On

Doug Kantor, an executive committee member of the Merchants Payments Coalition, which has been fighting the banks and credit card companies over the issue, said he expects “a lot of opposition” to the proposed settlement and says it could be rejected. The lobbying will continue, he said: “If anything this shows an even greater need for legislation and demonstrates the courts are just not equipped to set out how a competitive market could happen in the future.”

USA Today: Visa, Mastercard reach $200 billion deal over swipe fees. Will you see savings?

The deal would save nothing for consumers, said trade groups like National Retail Federation, Merchant Payments Coalition, National Association of Convenience Stores and Retail Industry Leaders Association.

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.

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.