Payments Dive: Judge sways away from Visa-Mastercard settlement
The MPC called the settlement a “flawed” one, suggesting in a press release that it would allow the card networks to persist in overcharging merchants. “Visa and Mastercard wanted a settlement that would let them keep price-fixing swipe fees and blocking competition,” National Grocers Association Chief Government Relations Officer Christopher Jones said in the MPC release.
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Finextra: US judge rejects $30bn interchange fee settlement
Merchant Payments Coalition executive committee member Christopher Jones says: "Thankfully, the judge made the right call in recognising what a bad deal this would have been for Main Street merchants and their customers."
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Consumer and Merchant Groups Urge Senate to Reject Bill Delaying Fed Action on Debit Card Swipe Fees
More than 200 state and national organizations representing consumers and merchants called on the Senate to reject legislation that would delay the Federal Reserve’s proposal to reduce how much big banks are allowed to charge to process debit card transactions.
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Politico Morning Money: The fight over credit card swipe fees hits the road
“It really shows the momentum and the trends here,” said Doug Kantor, the general counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores and a member at the Merchants Payments Coalition, adding that the efforts being undertaken at the state level are “part of a (growing) political and policy recognition that there’s a bigger problem here that has to be dealt with.”
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The Paypers: Visa, Mastercard's proposed antitrust settlement to be declined
In 2023 alone, interchange fees accounted for USD 172 million, nearly doubling in the last decade, as per the information provided by the Merchants Payments Coalition, which represents retailers, grocers, convenience stores, and gas stations.
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Philadelphia Business Journal: Banks decry proposed Pennsylvania legislation as $147M giveaway to big retailers
Citing data provided by the Merchants Payments Coalition, Scott and Samuelson said swipe fees are most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor and must be built into pricing, driving up expenses for the average family by close to $1,000 a year.
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Law360: Novel Ill. Swipe Fee Law Sparks New Banks V. Retailers Battle
Doug Kantor, (MPC Executive Committee member and) general counsel at the National Association of Convenience Stores, called the legislation "important and necessary." While NACS does not lobby at the state level and was not involved in negotiating the IFPA, it has encouraged state counterparts around the country to take up the swipe fee cause. "Credit card companies, unseen by almost anyone, take away the sales tax dollars that people give to their local stores before the stores can give it to the state, so those retailers have to dive into their own pockets to make up for the tax shortfall that the credit card industry creates," Kantor said. "It's clearly unjust. Retailers collect those taxes as a service to the state, and they shouldn't be penalized for it."
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Seeking Alpha: Wall Street Breakfast: Swipe Fees
Christopher Jones, executive committee member of Merchants Payments Coalition, argued that the settlement would have locked in cartel pricing and the judge's statement was "in support of justice for merchants and consumers."
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Seeking Alpha: Visa, Mastercard $30B settlement proposal may be rejected
"The judge made a strong statement in support of justice for merchants and consumers," said Christopher Jones, executive committee member, Merchants Payments Coalition. "This settlement would have done nothing to address the problem of how Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) centrally price fix swipe fees. Instead, the settlement would have locked in cartel pricing," he added.
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Venture Capital Post: Visa-Mastercard $30 Billion Swipe Fee Deal Setback as Judge Hints at Rejection
The total amount of swipe fees reached a staggering $172 billion, with a significant increase of over double in the past decade, as reported by the Merchants Payments Coalition. This coalition represents a wide range of businesses including retailers, grocers, convenience stores, and gas stations.
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