TechFlow news, November 9 — According to The Wall Street Journal, Visa and Mastercard are nearing a settlement with U.S. merchants, ending a two-decade-long legal battle. Under the agreement, interchange fees charged to merchants will be reduced, and merchants will gain greater autonomy in selecting credit card services. Previously, both companies required that if a merchant accepted one credit card within their network, they had to accept all cards issued under that network.
The legal dispute began in 2005 when U.S. merchants accused Visa, Mastercard, and major banks of anticompetitive practices regarding interchange fees and credit card acceptance rules. In March 2024, both sides reached a proposed settlement that would reduce interchange fees by 0.07% over five years and grant merchants more flexibility, including allowing them to impose surcharges on credit card payments, but the proposal was rejected by the presiding judge.
