WIBC-FM: Visa and Mastercard Cartel $30 Billion Swipe Fee Settlement Rejected By US Judge
MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor: "The very definition of a cartel is they put all these guys together and say you have to take every single person’s card like it’s from the same company or none of them. And putting competitors together. That is the very definition of cartel. And obviously I use it because. It carries other overtones for people and they understand, ohh, wait, cartels are bad, we don’t like those. There’s a problem. It gets people to notice what Visa and MasterCard like to keep hidden, which is that they have these gigantic fees."
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Payments Journal: Rejection of the Swipe Fee Settlement Sets up New Battles for Merchants
These changes would have saved merchants $30 billion over the next five years, according to a statement issued by their lawyers. For context, Visa and Mastercard’s swipe fees hit a record high of $100.77 billion in 2023, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition. However, merchant groups anticipate a more favorable outcome through a trial. “Going to trial is what we expect and what we absolutely want,” Doug Kantor, General Counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member), told Digital Transactions.
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United Press International: Federal judge rejects Visa, Mastercard swipe fee settlement
"Thankfully, the judge made the right call in recognizing what a bad deal this would have been for Main Street merchants and their customers," Christopher Jones chief government relations officer for the National Grocers Association (and MPC Executive Committee member), told The Hill. "It's extremely unusual for a judge to reject a settlement at the preliminary stage, so this shows how far Visa and Mastercard's proposal missed the mark."
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Convenience Store News: Retailers React as Judge Rejects Swipe Fee Settlement
"Visa and Mastercard wanted a settlement that would let them keep price-fixing swipe fees and blocking competition," MPC Executive Committee member and NGA Chief Government Relations Officer and Counsel Christopher Jones said. "Thankfully, the judge made the right call in recognizing what a bad deal this would have been for Main Street merchants and their customers. It's extremely unusual for a judge to reject a settlement at the preliminary stage, so this shows how far Visa and Mastercard's proposal missed the mark."
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NACS Daily: Judge Officially Rejects Credit Card Settlement
"[The settlement] didn't address the problem of Visa, Mastercard and banks forming a cartel to issue credit cards and set fees, such that merchants have to accept all cards or none," Doug Kantor, general counsel of NACS (and MPC Executive Committee member), said in an interview with Reuters. “We’re gratified to see that the court recognized how bad this settlement was.”
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CNET: Visa, Mastercard Settlement Blocked in Court. What’s Next for Credit Card Swipe Fees?
Judge Brodie found the settlement to be lacking, indicating that the proposed five-year cap and improved merchant flexibility weren’t enough to fix the issue. The Merchants Payment Coalition agreed, issuing a statement following Judge Brodie’s June 13 court memo. “This proposed settlement would have done nothing to address the problem of how Visa and Mastercard centrally price fix swipe fees,” said Christopher Jones, MPC executive committee member and National Grocers Association senior vice president of government relations and counsel. The MPC also stated that the settlement would make the problem worse. Under the proposal, Visa and Mastercard would be able to increase network fees whenever they wanted to -- wiping out any relief offered by the five-year cap on swipe fees.
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The Business Journals: Visa, Mastercard 'swipe' fee settlement dealt a big blow
“Visa and Mastercard wanted a settlement that would let them keep price-fixing swipe fees and blocking competition,” said Christopher Jones, an executive committee member at the Merchants Payment Coalition, in a statement. “Thankfully, the judge made the right call in recognizing what a bad deal this would have been for Main Street merchants and their customers. It’s extremely unusual for a judge to reject a settlement at the preliminary stage, so this shows how far Visa and Mastercard’s proposal missed the mark.”
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Industry Leaders Magazine: What is the future for Visa and Mastercard as settlement hits a roadblock?
Trade groups said the settlement would have given merchants only small and temporary relief, and made it difficult for them to mount future legal challenges. “It didn’t address the problem of Visa, Mastercard and banks forming a cartel to issue credit cards and set fees, such that merchants have to accept all cards or none,” Doug Kantor, general counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member), said in an interview. “The next step, presumably, is a trial,” he added.
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Digital Transactions: Merchants Look Forward to Their Day in Court After Judge Brodie Rejects the Interchange Settlement
“Going to trial is what we expect and what we absolutely want,” says Doug Kantor, general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member. “One of the goals of the litigation is to show the bad acts of the card industry when it comes to card pricing [for merchants].”
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Quartz: Visa and Mastercard's 20 year-long battle over swipe fees will rage on
(National Grocers Association) Chief Government Relations Officer and (MPC Executive Committee member) Christopher Jones said in a statement “the judge made the right call in recognizing what a bad deal this would have been for Main Street merchants and their customers.”
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