Two new industry lawsuits related to card acceptance fees

Background: First, there was the July 13, 2012, settlement of a longstanding lawsuit related to interchange fees, involving Visa, MasterCard and nine banks. The settlement received preliminary judge approval November 9, 2012. Next, the court's "fairness hearing" will occur September 12, 2013, to determine whether the settlement is fair, adequate and reasonable.

Members and subscribers, access a summary of the settlement. Not either one? Visit www.napcp.org/JoinNow to begin.

Today: May 28, 2013, marks the deadline for any card-accepting merchant to opt out of, or object to, this lawsuit settlement. Visit www.paymentcardsettlement.com for details.

New lawsuits: Ahead of the deadline, on May 23, 2013, a group of retailers including Target and Macy's filed a new lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard, seeking various damages pertaining to card acceptance fees (interchange). Then Visa, MasterCard and some issuing banks filed a lawsuit of their own against several retail associations, such as the National Association of Convenience Stores, in an effort to prevent future litigation over the fees. Might these new lawsuits impact the final approval of the July 2012 settlement? The NAPCP will continue to monitor and report on this ongoing news story.

Members, read about merchant opposition to the settlement, as well as details about surcharging that stem from the settlement.