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A San Diego pizzeria has filed a proposed class action accusing Visa, Mastercard and five major banks of suppressing competition and keeping merchant credit-card fees high. The complaint seeks to represent U.S. merchants that accepted the networks’ cards from Jan. 25, 2019, onward; its allegations have not been established in court.
A San Diego pizzeria has filed a proposed class action accusing Visa, Mastercard and five major banks of maintaining rules that suppress competition and inflate the fees merchants pay when customers use their credit cards. The lawsuit seeks to cover merchants that accepted the networks’ cards from Jan. 25, 2019, onward, but the allegations have not been proven and the court has not certified a class.
The 134-page complaint alleges that Visa and Mastercard coordinated with Bank of America, Capital One, Chase Bank, Citibank and Wells Fargo over decades to set uniform schedules of interchange fees. Those charges are paid by merchants to banks that issue cards when a customer makes a purchase. The complaint describes the fees as effectively non-negotiable; that characterization is the plaintiff’s allegation, not a court finding.
The suit claims network rules require merchants that accept one Visa or Mastercard credit card to accept all cards bearing that brand, regardless of the fees attached. It also alleges merchants have been restricted from steering customers toward less costly payment methods, including through surcharges tied to a particular card. The plaintiff argues those conditions weaken incentives for banks and networks to compete on price.
The complaint says merchants now pay more than $100 billion annually to accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards. It also alleges the networks charge their own per-transaction and fixed fees, separate from interchange, and that those charges have been inflated by the same restraints. The figure and the description of the fees come from the lawsuit; the source report does not provide an independent calculation or a response from the defendants.
How the Claims Affect Merchants
Card acceptance fees are a recurring cost for businesses that take credit cards. If the plaintiff’s claims were proven and the court granted relief, the case could affect how those fees are set and whether merchants have greater ability to reject costly cards or direct customers to other payment methods. The complaint seeks to represent a broad group of U.S. businesses and other entities, so the proposed case could have consequences well beyond the San Diego pizzeria.
For now, the filing changes no fee rules and does not establish that the defendants acted unlawfully. Its significance lies in seeking a remedy for transactions after the cutoff in earlier litigation. Merchants and customers should not treat the lawsuit itself as evidence that fees will fall or that any payment-network rules have already changed.
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The Earlier Card-Fee Settlement
The filing follows years of earlier litigation over credit-card fees and merchant rules. According to the complaint, a court approved a settlement in December 2019 that provided more than $5 billion in monetary relief to merchants. That settlement covered a class period ending Jan. 24, 2019, leaving the new proposed case focused on transactions from the following day onward.
The complaint also refers to a separate settlement seeking changes to the networks’ rules. It says that agreement had received preliminary approval and would provide prospective relief, but would not compensate merchants for fees paid since Jan. 25, 2019. The new plaintiff argues that the earlier monetary settlement and proposed future rule changes leave merchants without compensation for the period at issue in this suit. Those descriptions reflect the complaint; the supplied report does not establish the current status or final terms of the separate settlement.
““a deadweight toll on virtually every credit card purchase in America””
— The complaint
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Court Status and Defenses
The supplied report does not state the filing date, identify a case number, or describe a response from Visa, Mastercard or the banks. It also does not say whether any defendant has moved to dismiss the case or whether the court has set a hearing. The plaintiff’s proposed class has not been certified, so the suit’s eventual scope remains unresolved.
It is also unclear what relief the court might allow, how the claims overlap with the earlier settlement proceedings, or whether the separate rule-change settlement will receive final approval and on what terms. The complaint’s account of fee levels, market restraints and continuing harm remains contested unless established through the litigation.
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The Case’s Next Legal Steps
The case will proceed through the court process, where the defendants may respond to the complaint and the court may consider early motions. Any class-certification decision would determine whether the named pizzeria can pursue claims on behalf of the proposed group of merchants. No hearing date or deadline is provided in the source report.
Further developments to watch include court rulings on the claims, any arguments over the relationship to previous settlements, and whether the separate settlement on future rules becomes final. Until those steps occur, the allegations remain claims in a newly filed proposed class action, not findings of liability or a change to merchants’ current fees.
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Key Questions
Who filed the lawsuit?
A San Diego pizzeria filed the proposed class action. The supplied report does not name the business.
Which companies are accused?
The complaint names Visa, Mastercard, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase Bank, Citibank and Wells Fargo. The accusations have not been proven in court.
What period does the proposed class cover?
The proposed group includes individuals, businesses and other entities that accepted Visa-branded or Mastercard-branded credit cards in the United States from Jan. 25, 2019, until the alleged effects of the challenged conduct cease. The court has not certified that class.
Does the lawsuit mean merchant fees will fall?
No. Filing the case does not change current fees. Any changes would depend on court rulings, a settlement or other developments not established in the source report.
Source: hn
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