In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation (1:05-md-01720)
June 2024 Update: The Court denied granting preliminary approval of the proposed Equitable Relief Settlement on June 25, 2024, rejecting the deal for numerous reasons including the Court's opinion that Visa and Mastercard have the ability to withstand a greater judgment.
In late March, Visa and Mastercard announced they had created a groundbreaking settlement (“Equitable Relief Settlement”) requiring them to implement significant changes to their respective network rules that will eliminate anti-steering restrictions, benefitting all United States merchants.
Once approved, this non-monetary settlement will cover the next five years and requires the payment networks to change their rules regarding surcharging and discounting, in addition to imposing a cap and reduction on posted interchange rates. The rate caps and reductions will deliver $30 billion in savings to merchants over the next several years.
Unlike the $5.6 billion monetary settlement created on behalf merchants for alleged overpayment of interchange fees, the incoming settlement is for equitable relief only. No action or claim filing is required from merchants to benefit from the relief provided within the Equitable Relief Settlement.
As the June 13, 2024 preliminary approval hearing approaches, several merchants and merchant trade groups have objected to the terms of the settlement, including concerns the settlement terms do not redress defendants’ alleged misconduct.
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