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US: DOJ gets Supreme Court extension in Amex case

By  |  March 30, 2017

The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division has reportedly received approval to delay the deadline to file a petition for a writ of certiorari over the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in the years-old antitrust case against American Express.

In short, the rules that American Express imposes prevent merchants from encouraging customers to use lower-cost cards. The Retail Litigation Center (RLC) and the National Retail Foundation have said the practice violates antitrust rules and makes it hard for merchants to get lower fees from major credit card companies in the US.

“While intense competition is a hallmark of the retail industry, it is largely absent from the credit card market, where fees continue to skyrocket,” said RLC President Deborah White. “American Express stifles competition by imposing rules that deny merchants the ability to incentivize customers to use lower cost cards and, by doing so, increases costs for all customers. Consumers should have visibility into the cost of transactions and the opportunity to take action to limit them if they so choose.”

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