The largest anti-trust settlement may be approved by one Brooklyn judge. Over the summer, retailers finished complaints against credit card companies for merchant fees, ultimately agreeing to a deal that would push down credit card merchant fees and allow retailers to pass on fees to consumers.
The results of the settlement may mean that credit card users pay more for every day products than people who do not use their credit cards. Some industry analysts suggest that stores are unlikely to pass on fees to consumers, citing the unpopularity of surcharges and other fees. Also, credit cards remain a popular way to pay for many shoppers during this shaky economic period.
As terms of the settlement, Visa and MasterCard would deliver its customers lighter fees for several months alongside a cash payout in the billions of dollars - $6.05 billion, to be exact. The settlement is the largest ever of its kind, one that affects virtually every business in existence today as it is directly related to the fees merchants pay to accept credit cards from their customers.
Any settlement is likely to be renegotiated and discussed after it goes to the judge. As it stands, several retailers including Walmart, Target, and Kroger have teamed together to voice their dissent. If approved, the settlement waives the rights of retailers to negotiated credit card processing fees in the future, a key part of the settlement which many retailers do not want to see in any final agreement.