Visa, Mastercard Antitrust Class Actions Certified In New York And DC

Two class action certifications in two months have put credit card giants Visa and Mastercard on the defensive over the alleged anticompetitive transaction fees and rules the companies impose on merchants in one case and independent ATM operators in the other.

Most recently, U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie of New York certified a class action against Visa, Mastercard and a group of large banks on Sept. 27 for fixing the "merchant discount," the fee paid by merchants on credit and debit card transactions, and for rules that prevent merchants from steering customers to other, lower-fee payment options (In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1720 [MKB] [JO]). The court has already preliminarily approved a proposed settlement of a maximum of $6.24 billion and a minimum of $5.54 billion.