TL;DR
Get your next haul delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
A San Diego pizzeria has filed a proposed class action accusing Visa, Mastercard and five major banks of maintaining rules that kept merchant credit-card fees high. The allegations have not been proven, and the case seeks to represent merchants that accepted the networks’ cards from Jan. 25, 2019, onward.
A San Diego pizzeria has filed a proposed class action accusing Visa, Mastercard and five major banks of maintaining rules that kept fees merchants pay on card transactions artificially high. The complaint seeks to cover merchants that accepted Visa- or Mastercard-branded credit cards beginning Jan. 25, 2019, the day after the period covered by an earlier settlement ended; the allegations have not been proven in court.
The 134-page complaint names Visa, Mastercard, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase Bank, Citibank and Wells Fargo. It alleges that the networks and banks coordinated interchange-fee schedules over decades and used rules that made it difficult for merchants to refuse higher-cost cards or direct customers toward less expensive payment methods. Interchange fees are charges paid by merchants to the banks that issue cards when a transaction is processed.
The suit says merchants accepting any Visa or Mastercard credit card have effectively been required to accept all cards bearing that brand, regardless of the fees attached. It also alleges that restrictions on steering customers or surcharging by card type weakened competition among banks and networks. The complaint further claims Visa and Mastercard charged their own network fees, which it describes as an additional cost to merchants. These are allegations in the filing, not findings by a court.
The lawsuit says merchants now pay more than $100 billion annually in fees to accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards. That figure is presented in the complaint; the source report does not give an independent estimate or a comparison period. The proposed class would include individuals, businesses and other entities in the United States that accepted either network’s cards from Jan. 25, 2019, until the alleged effects of the challenged conduct cease.
Why Post-2019 Fees Are at Issue
The case focuses on a period that the filing says was left outside the compensation covered by a previous merchant settlement. If the claims succeed, the lawsuit could affect whether merchants can seek damages for fees paid after that earlier settlement’s class period and could put the networks’ acceptance rules under further legal scrutiny.
For businesses that take card payments, the dispute concerns recurring operating costs incurred on everyday transactions. The complaint argues that merchants have had limited ability to avoid those costs or negotiate them down. Whether the alleged rules actually restricted competition in the way the plaintiffs claim, and what relief could be available, are questions for the court.
merchant credit card fee calculator
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Earlier Settlement Covered Through 2019
The complaint refers to longstanding multidistrict litigation over card-network rules and merchant fees. According to the source report, a court approved a monetary settlement in December 2019 that provided more than $5 billion in relief to merchants. The settlement covered a class period ending Jan. 24, 2019; the new case seeks relief for a later period.
The filing also points to a separate settlement seeking changes to the rules, which the report says had received preliminary approval. The complaint contends that those changes would apply prospectively and would not compensate merchants for fees paid from Jan. 25, 2019, onward. The existence of the earlier settlements does not establish the claims in the new lawsuit.
““a deadweight toll on virtually every credit card purchase in America””
— The complaint, as quoted by ClassAction.org
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Claims Still Await Court Review
The source report does not state the court where the new case was filed, provide a case number, or identify a response from Visa, Mastercard or the bank defendants. It also does not say whether a judge has ruled on class certification or the merits. The complaint’s assertions about coordination, fee levels, competition and continuing harm remain allegations unless established through the legal process.
It is also unclear what specific damages the named pizzeria seeks, how any proposed class would be defined by a court, and how the new case may interact with the earlier settlements or prospective rule changes. The reported figure of more than $100 billion in annual fees is attributed to the lawsuit and should not be treated as a finding about the amount at issue in this case.
business payment processing terminal
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Court Filings Will Set the Course
The next developments will depend on the court’s handling of the complaint, including any motions by the defendants and decisions about whether the proposed class action can proceed. The source material provides no hearing date, response deadline or schedule for a ruling.
Merchants and other readers should look for court filings and orders to establish the defendants’ responses, the legal questions before the judge and any changes to the proposed class definition. Until then, the suit’s claims remain untested, and no outcome or compensation for merchants has been confirmed.
merchant fee dispute resolution tools
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
Who is being sued?
The proposed class action names Visa, Mastercard, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase Bank, Citibank and Wells Fargo. The claims in the complaint have not been proven.
What does the lawsuit allege?
The pizzeria alleges that the networks and banks maintained fee schedules and acceptance rules that limited competition and made it harder for merchants to avoid or negotiate card costs. Those assertions are allegations, not court findings.
Which merchants could be covered?
The proposed class described in the complaint covers individuals, businesses and other U.S. entities that accepted Visa- or Mastercard-branded credit cards from Jan. 25, 2019, until the alleged anticompetitive effects cease. A court would need to address whether the class may proceed and how it should be defined.
How does this relate to the earlier settlement?
The source report says an earlier monetary settlement covered transactions through Jan. 24, 2019. The new lawsuit seeks to address alleged harm from the following day onward; it does not establish that merchants will receive compensation.
Have the defendants responded or has a judge ruled?
The source material does not provide responses from the defendants or any ruling on the new complaint. The case’s schedule and outcome remain unclear.
Source: hn
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
