Retailers Urge Judge to Block Visa, Mastercard Fee Settlement

Walmart emerged as a leading critic in a court filing submitted Friday, objecting to a settlement negotiated by a group of smaller merchants. The retail giant argued that the proposal “offers no meaningful relief” to large national chains and would require merchants to give up their right to pursue antitrust claims for the next eight years, per Reuters. Walmart also said the deal fails to address a long-standing rule that obliges merchants to accept all Visa or Mastercard credit cards from every issuing bank if they accept any card from those networks.

The settlement, announced in November, was designed to bring an end to nearly two decades of litigation after a federal judge rejected an earlier $30 billion agreement last year. Under the current proposal, Visa and Mastercard would reduce so-called swipe fees paid by merchants on retail transactions by 0.1 percentage point for a five-year period, according to Bloomberg.

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Neither Walmart nor the lead attorneys representing the merchants who negotiated the settlement immediately responded to requests for comment. Visa and Mastercard, which deny any wrongdoing, said the agreement represents a fair resolution. Mastercard said in a statement that it continues to believe the settlement is “the best solution for all parties” and said it is eager to see the case resolved. Visa pointed to an earlier statement saying the deal would deliver “meaningful relief, more flexibility and options to control how they accept payments from their customers,” per Bloomberg.

Related: Visa and Mastercard Reach Landmark Settlement to End Longstanding Fee Dispute

Opposition to the settlement extends beyond Walmart. In a separate filing, the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association warned U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan that the proposed changes amounted to “illusory reforms” and criticized a proposed $206 million payout to plaintiffs’ lawyers as “staggering,” according to Bloomberg.

Other challengers argued that the agreement was negotiated by just five small businesses on behalf of a class estimated at roughly 20 million merchants, effectively sidelining organizations that represent companies with a combined $2.7 trillion in annual sales, Bloomberg reported.

Additional resistance came from merchant plaintiffs involved in separate litigation against Visa in New York over debit-card transactions. Those merchants said the settlement could undermine their ongoing case and potentially interfere with Justice Department investigations and private consumer lawsuits accusing Visa of monopolizing debit-card markets, according to Bloomberg.

The case before the court is In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Source: Reuters.