Dive Brief:
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On Friday, U.S. District Judge John Gleeson approved a $5.7 billion settlement between Visa, Mastercard and retailers over alleged fixing of credit card interchange fees. Big retailers like Wal-Mart and Amazon say they plan to appeal.
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An estimated one-third of one year's worth of interchange fees will go back to retailers under the deal, which has yet to finalized.
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“For the first time, merchants will be empowered to expose hidden bank fees to their customers, educate them about those fees and use that information to influence their customers’ choices of payment methods,” Gleeson said in his ruling.
Dive Insight:
Many retailers are not satisfied. Major players such as Wal-Mart, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and 7-Eleven have indicated they do not agree with the deal and plan to appeal Gleeson's decision. The Retail Industry Leaders Association, the National Grocers Association and the National Retail Federation said they will do the same. Their main complaint is the deal goes too far in insulating credit card companies from future lawsuits. Gleeson suggested he agreed with such concerns in a Sept. 12 hearing.
