RILA Disappointed with Preliminary Approval of Visa and Mastercard Swipe Fee Settlement

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) issued the following statement after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted preliminary approval of the proposed Visa and Mastercard settlement in the long-running Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation:

“Retailers are disappointed by yesterday's preliminary approval of the proposed Visa and Mastercard settlement. Retailers continue to face excessive and ever-increasing swipe fees in a broken payments market that lacks competition. The proposed settlement offers no meaningful relief and leaves intact the underlying system that enables Visa and Mastercard to dictate the rules and costs that merchants and consumers must bear.” 

RILA, whose members are responsible for one of the largest categories of credit card transactions in the United States, previously filed objections to the proposed settlement, arguing that it fails to provide adequate relief for merchants and does not meaningfully reform the anticompetitive practices at the center of the litigation.

As the retailers wrote in their objection: “Rather than changing the fundamentals of this monopolistic market, the proposed settlement enshrines them. It locks in Visa’s and Mastercard’s dominant position and, via its release and waiver provisions, cuts off the legal rights of any other merchant or group to challenge the credit card cartel pricing model.”

“While disappointing, this decision is merely preliminary approval. It is not the final word in this case,” said Monica Welt, RILA General Counsel. “RILA intends to continue to advocate on behalf of retailers to obtain a different resolution. One that delivers lasting competition, meaningful fee relief, and a fairer payments marketplace for retailers and the customers they serve. We look forward to presenting our arguments at the next stage in this litigation.”  

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Media Contact: press@rila.org

RILA is the U.S. trade association for leading retailers. We convene decision-makers, advocate for the industry, and promote operational excellence and innovation. Our aim is to elevate a dynamic industry by transforming the environment in which retailers operate.

RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $2.7 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs, and hundreds of thousands of stores, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers domestically and abroad.