Visa, Mastercard Face New Pushback in $5.5 Billion Retailer Suit
- Largest retail trade groups asked to be recognized in lawsuit
- Long-running litigation started in 2005, remains in appeals
Photographer: Karol Serewis/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are facing fresh opposition from U.S. retailers in a long-running legal fight over the fees merchants pay each time consumers swipe their credit or debit card at checkout.
The Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Retail Federation want to join a federal lawsuit filed in 2005 that led Visa, Mastercard and some big banks to agree to pay $5.54 billion to settle the case. While the suit is still in the midst of appeals, the industry’s two largest trade groups said the class of merchants the existing plaintiffs are seeking to certify is too broad and would prevent retailers who don’t like the settlement terms from opting out and taking their own legal action.