NACS Daily: Consumers Will Spend $22.4 Billion This Father’s Day
“Credit card companies are snipping the end off the Father’s Day necktie with high swipe fees that drive up prices,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Grocers Association Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Counsel Christopher Jones said. “For families taking Dad out to the ballgame, swipe fees can equal the cost of a hot dog or a bag of Cracker Jacks. The credit card industry sees this special day as just another opportunity to make money. It’s time for Congress to stand up for dads by passing the Credit Card Competition Act.”
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CSP Daily News: Judge’s Statement Supports Merchants in Swipe Fee Case
The Merchants Payments Coalition welcomed Judge Brodie’s comments indicating that she is likely to reject a proposed class-action settlement over Visa and Mastercard credit card swipe fees. “The judge made a strong statement in support of justice for merchants and consumers,” said Christopher Jones, MPC executive committee member and National Grocers Association Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Counsel. “We appreciate that there was recognition of the fatal flaws that would have made the settlement a bad deal for Main Street rather than a correction of credit card industry violations of the antitrust laws. It’s past time for Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act to fix this broken market.”
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Convenience Store News: Judge Signals Dismissal of Swipe Fee Settlement
The MPC applauded news of the settlement's likely rejection, calling the deal a "sham" that would have locked in cartel pricing and made the situation worse. "The judge made a strong statement in support of justice for merchants and consumers," said MPC Executive Committee member and National Grocers Association Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Counsel Christopher Jones. "We appreciate that there was recognition of the fatal flaws that would have made the settlement a bad deal for Main Street rather than a correction of credit card industry violations of the antitrust laws. It’s past time for Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act to fix this broken market."
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Payments Dive: Landmark Visa, Mastercard settlement in peril
The Merchants Payments Coalition, quickly voiced support for the settlement’s rejection on Thursday. “The judge made a strong statement in support of justice for merchants and consumers,” MPC executive committee member Christopher Jones said in a press release. “This proposed settlement would have done nothing to address the problem of how Visa and Mastercard centrally price fix swipe fees.”
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NACS Daily: Judge Likely to Reject Proposed Swipe Fee Settlement
“The judge made a strong statement in support of justice for merchants and consumers,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Grocers Association Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Counsel Christopher Jones said. “We appreciate that there was recognition of the fatal flaws that would have made the settlement a bad deal for Main Street rather than a correction of credit card industry violations of the antitrust laws. It’s past time for Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act to fix this broken market.”
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Digital Transactions: The Big Credit Card Settlement Now Appears to Be Headed for a Trial. Who Will Win?
“Judge Brodie seems to believe the settlement doesn’t work. The next step is to go to trial,” says (MPC Executive Committee member) Doug Kantor, general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. “That’s the right call and a good thing.”
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Investopedia: Visa, Mastercard $30 Billion Swipe-Fee Settlement Likely To Be Tossed
However, critics opposed the plan, among them the Merchants Payments Coalition, a group of businesses that advocates for a more competitive and transparent U.S. payments system. The MPC noted it welcomed the comments from the judge, and Christopher Jones, an executive committee member of the MPC, added that the “there was recognition of the fatal flaws that would have made the settlement a bad deal for Main Street rather than a correction of credit card industry violations of the antitrust laws.”
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MarketWatch: What a legal snag in landmark merchant suit could mean for Visa and Mastercard
MPC: “While the case has been in court for nearly 20 years, the four basis-point reduction is illusory and would not come close to addressing the fact that the average rate has grown two dozen basis points, from 2.02%, since 2010.”
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Wall Street Journal: Proposed Visa and Mastercard Swipe-Fees Settlement Is Likely to Be Thrown Out
“This proposed settlement does nothing to address the problem of how Visa and Mastercard centrally price fix swipe fees,” said Christopher Jones, executive committee member of the Merchants Payments Coalition in a statement.
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Reuters: Visa, Mastercard $30 billion fee settlement in peril
Swipe fees totaled $172 billion, opens new tab in 2023, and have more than doubled in the last decade, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition, which represents retailers, grocers, convenience stores and gas stations.
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