US: Grocers weigh-in as interchange fee settlement sits in limbo

As the multi-billion dollar interchange fee settlement remains in legal limbo, the National Grocers Association made its case against the offer to US District Judge John Gleeson, who will decide whether to grant final approval of the settlement offer, ending a major class action with some of the largest retailers in the nation.

Executives from the NGA testified last Thursday that the interchange fee settlement offer “should be rejected.” The settlement is offered by Visa, MasterCard and major banks to end a legal battle against the swipe-fees, which charge retailers every time a consumer uses one of Visa or MasterCard’s cards at the register.

In his testimony, NGA executive vice president Thomas Wenning called the offer “a one-sided proposed settlement agreement” that “increases the market power of credit card companies and banks.”

The original settlement offer reached $7.25 billion, but 25 percent of included merchants chose to opt-out of the deal.

Full Content: Supermarket News

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