Dive Brief:
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The National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association say a December settlement reached by some retailers and Visa and MasterCard will not effectively control swipe fees, and are asking an appellate court to overturn the settlement.
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Although the retail groups and others rejected the settlement at the time, it was approved by U.S. District Court Judge John Gleeson.
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Retailers who don’t agree to the settlement would nevertheless be prevented from filing future lawsuits over the fees. The retail groups have also said they would take the matter to the Supreme Court.
Dive Insight:
The conflict between credit card companies and retailers over swipe fees has been a frustrating one for larger retailers, who say the Dodd-Frank banking reform law stipulates fees even lower than the Federal Reserve’s new 21-cent cap. Fees had previously been set by Visa and MasterCard at 44 cents per transaction, which retailers reimburse to banks. The retailers argue that the added expense would increase prices to their customers, and many are against the approved settlement.
“The truth is that there is no settlement with the retail industry, only an agreement with a handful of merchants who do not represent the industry as a whole,” said NRF senior vice president and general counsel Mallory Duncan in a press release.
