Visa, Mastercard Are Close to Swipe-Fee Settlement, WSJ Reports
Two companies reportedly agreed to pay merchants about $6.5 billion under the terms of the settlement.
Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are close to settling a lawsuit over fees paid when merchants accept card payments, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The two card companies and banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. would pay merchants about $6.5 billion under the terms of the settlement, according to the newspaper.
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of 12 million merchants nationwide, was filed more than a decade ago after earlier disputes over the fees. A federal appeals court in 2016 rejected a $5.7 billion settlement of the claims, which center on whether the card companies improperly fixed credit-card swipe fees.