A New York Federal Judge has granted preliminary approval to a USD 7.2bn settlement between merchants and Visa Inc and MasterCard over swipe fee rates despite opposition from a group of 1,200 US retailers.
In July 2012, Visa, MasterCard and nine major US issuers, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo announced the settlement to end a dispute that started in 2005, when a class of 7m US merchants accused them to violated antitrust laws by conspiring to impose high swipe fees.
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Trade associations including the National Association of Convenience Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association and the National Restaurant Association stressed the reason behind the refusal lays in the lack of a significant reform to swipe-fee rates.
However, Judge John Gleeson of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York has rejected their concerns and gave the settlement preliminary approval.
Hank Armour, president and CEO, National Association of Convenience Stores, said “We remain convinced that this is a bad deal and we will look at our options to appeal this decision. This bad deal should not be forced upon the vast majority of merchants and – their customers – who do not want it.”
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