Visa, Mastercard agree to $7.25bn retail settlement

PanARMENIAN.Net - Credit card companies Visa and Mastercard and major US banks have agreed to a $7.25bn settlement to retailers over card fees, BBC News said.

The case, which has been going on for seven years, is over firms colluding to fix the fees that stores pay to process credit and debt card payments.

The settlement is thought to be the largest of its kind in US history. It involves a $6bn payment to stores and an agreement to reduce swipe fees for eight months, valued at $1.2bn.

An additional $525 million has been set aside to pay to the stores which sued individually, including grocery chains Kroger and Safeway and the Rite Aid pharmacy chain.

The settlement involves credit card giants Visa and Mastercard, as well as major US banks which issue their cards including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citibank.

Craig Wildfang, the lead lawyer representing the merchants, told AFP: "Over time, the reforms induced by this case and in this settlement should help reduce card-acceptance costs to merchants, which in turn, will result in lower prices for all consumers." Visa and Mastercard already paid a combined $3bn to settle a lawsuit over their "honour all cards" policies, which tied acceptance of credit to debit cards.