MPC In the News

WebProNews: Swipe Fee Showdown: Visa and Mastercard’s $38B Deal Reshapes Retail Payments

Not all merchants are celebrating. Some trade groups, including the Merchants Payments Coalition, have voiced opposition, arguing the reductions are too modest and temporary.

NewsNation: Here’s how the Visa, Mastercard swipe-fee settlement could affect you

“[The proposal] ignores the fact that 85% of cards issued today are rewards cards and that merchants have no choice but to accept them,” said Jennifer Hatcher, an executive committee member of the Merchants Payment Coalition, in a statement calling for the settlement to be rejected.

NerdWallet: ‘We Take Visa, Just Not That One’: Are Credit Card Rules About to Change?

The proposal “ignores the fact that 85% of cards issued today are rewards cards and that merchants have no choice but to accept them,” added Jennifer Hatcher, a Merchant Payments Coalition executive committee member, in a statement. “Banks would likely also have the power to move cards into different categories, effectively forcing merchants to continue to take all cards and pay their high prices.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.”