US: Discover enters the DOJ, AmEx feud

A top executive for Discover Financial Services took the stand Thursday to testify in a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice against Discover rival American Express.

According to reports, Discover president and COO Roger Hochschild testified against AmEx and said it would offer incentives to merchants to encourage the use of Discover cards is AmEx is forced to end rules against retailers that prohibit such practices.

AmEx was sued in 2010 by the DOJ over rules the credit card company forces on retails to bar merchants from favoring the use of rival credit cards despite AmEx having the highest processing fees of its competitors. AmEx claims it would lose market share if it can no longer enforce those rules, but the DOJ says those rules are anticompetitive.

Reports say the trial, currently taking place in New York, is expected to last through the summer. The DOJ is not seeking monetary damages but is looking for a ruling that bans AmEx from enforcing such rules with merchants.

Full content: Wall Street Journal

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