NACS and NRF File Complaints in Interchange Fee Case

The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) and the National Retail Federation (NRF) filed complaints opposing the Visa and Mastercard settlement offer in a 20-year legal battle over interchange fees.

The associations and some individual merchants filed complaints last week, and the settlement process is now headed for a hearing and the court’s preliminary ruling for or against the settlement, Digital Transactions reported Monday (Dec. 15).

Visa and Mastercard made their settlement offer in November after an earlier offer was rejected in 2024, according to the report.

In one complaint, NACS and Circle K Stores argued that the proposed interchange-rate reductions and caps would have little effect, because the rates increased over the past year, and that the proposed settlement would not fix what they said is a lack of price competition in the market, per the report.

After the complaints were filed, the Electronic Payments Coalition, which represents Visa, Mastercard and banks, reissued a statement from November in which it said the proposed agreement provides businesses with greater choice in card acceptance, more ability to pass along card processing costs and a cap on interchange rates, according to the report.

Payments Dive, which reported on the complaints from NACS and other groups and merchants, said that about 30 merchants from other plaintiff groups have reached independent settlement agreements and that Visa and Mastercard face two damages trials in 2026 against groups that sued them over swipe fees.

The proposed settlement involves one of the legal battles that merchants have pursued against Visa and Mastercard, claiming that the companies’ interchange fees and acceptance terms amounted to monopolistic behavior.

The card companies and the plaintiffs in this case had come to an agreement in 2024, though that was ultimately thrown out by a judge who found the deal inadequate.

PYMNTS reported in November that the companies’ updated proposal would reduce interchange fees by 0.1 percentage points for five years; permit merchants to choose whether they want to accept U.S. cards in certain categories; cap standard consumer rates at 1.25%; and give merchants more freedom to impose surcharges on credit card users.