Visa and Mastercard Settle With Merchants: What Does It Mean?

The recent settlement of a class-action lawsuit pitting merchants against card networks Mastercard and Visa is attention-getting, not least of all for the $30 billion price tag. Merchants have long been vocal about rising interchange costs and what they view as an inability to exercise control over them. The settlement provides some relief in this area, but in the view of Javelin Strategy & Research, it’s more a course correction than a wholesale reworking of the bank card economic model. 

This report looks at the settlement, including a timeline of the litigation, what the details are, the degree to which merchants have improved their position, and how various entities in the merchant payments ecosystem—acquirers, card networks, service providers, vendors, and merchants themselves—should adjust their sails should the settlement receive court approval, as is expected.

Key questions discussed in this report: 

• What does the settlement, if approved, mean for the various entities in the merchant payments ecosystem?
• What was the timeline of the litigation and how did the sides arrive at the settlement?
• What does the settlement mean for card payments overall?

Companies Mentioned: 

American Express, Macy’s, Mastercard, Visa