Financial Times: Visa and Mastercard forge deal to end long-term dispute with merchants
Some major trade bodies including the National Retail Federation and the Merchants Payments Coalition criticised the proposed settlement, saying it does not go far enough to address their concerns over swipe fees. ... Both groups said they were pushing for Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act, which the Merchants Payments Coalition estimates will save merchants $17bn a year by making it easier for large banks to process credit card payments on alternative card networks.
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Digital Transactions: A Deal Looks No Closer In Merchants’ Long-Running Legal Battle Over Acceptance Fees
Merchant opposition to the expected settlement offer is driven by the networks’ failure to create a payments ecosystem that enables true pricing competition concerning acceptance costs, merchant groups argue. “That’s the central problem, and the settlement does not address it,” says Doug Kantor, a Merchants Payments Coalition executive committee member and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. “[The central problem] remains the reason why the lawsuit was brought in the first place.” The MPC, NACS, and the National Retail Federation issued statements Sunday opposing the expected settlement and calling for it to be rejected by the court.
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Convenience Store News: Retailers Oppose Reported Visa & Mastercard Settlement
According to the MPC, the newly proposed settlement fails to overcome Judge Brodie's reasons for rejecting the last settlement and should therefore also be rejected. "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," MPC Executive Committee member and FMI — the Food Industry Association Chief Public Policy Officer Jennifer Hatcher said. "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. "It is now clearer than ever that Congress needs to pass the Credit Card Competition Act to fix our nation's broken payments system," Hatcher continued. "Small businesses and American consumers can't afford to keep paying cartel fees on cards that drive up prices by billions of dollars a year."
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Progressive Grocer: Visa, Mastercard Offer Revised Swipe Fee Settlement
“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,” noted Jennifer Hatcher, executive committee member of the Merchants Payments Coalition and chief public policy officer at Arlington, Va.-based FMI — the Food Industry Association. “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.”
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PYMNTS: SMBs Stand to Gain From Visa and Mastercard ‘Swipe Fees’ Settlement
The Merchants Payments Coalition called fee reduction “minuscule,” and said Visa and Mastercard would be free to raise fees without restrictions after temporary cuts expired. It also said merchants had “no choice” but to accept rewards cards, which make up 85% of all cards issued, and banks could still move cards into different categories, essentially requiring merchants to accept all cards.
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Harlem World: Visa And Mastercard Settle Swipe Fee Lawsuit
The Merchants Payments Coalition criticized the fee reduction as “minimal,” noting that Visa and Mastercard could still raise fees without limitation once temporary reductions expire. The group also argued that merchants have “no choice” but to accept rewards cards, which constitute 85% of all issued cards.
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MPC Hill Blast: Asking for Strike 3
The credit card giants have tried multiple times to pull a fast one on Main Street by negotiating antitrust litigation settlements that allow them to continue their anticompetitive practices with legal immunity. According to the Wall Street Journal, they are at it again.
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Supermarket News: Retailers oppose latest interchange fee settlement offer
“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, chief public policy officer at FMI—the Food Industry Association and a member of the executive committee at the Merchant Payments Coalition.
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Hoodline: Honolulu Shops Brace For Swipe-Fee Shakeup As Visa, Mastercard Pitch $38B Deal
Retail trade groups didn’t mince words. The National Retail Federation labeled the draft agreement “all window dressing and no substance” and urged Judge Margo Brodie to reject it, arguing a tiny basis‑point trim won’t fix systems that let banks centrally set fees, per an NRF press release. The Merchants Payments Coalition and small‑business advocates also warned that because most consumer cards are rewards cards, merchants may have limited ability to steer customers toward cheaper options.
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CSP Daily News: Retailers oppose latest interchange fee settlement offer
“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, chief public policy officer at FMI—the Food Industry Association and a member of the executive committee at the Merchant Payments Coalition.
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