A fight between U.K. retailers and credit-card companies that has lasted five years and spawned wildly different court rulings reached a London appeals court Monday that could determine the fates of lawsuits potentially worth billions.
Supermarkets including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Asda, Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc and J Sainsbury Plc are arguing that some fees set by Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are anti-competitive. At issue is the use of so-called interchange fees, levied by banks at rates set by the card companies each time a consumer’s plastic is swiped at a register.
