Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) said Monday they have agreed to a proposed settlement to resolve claims of anti-competitive practices in a class action lawsuit against the companies and other defendants.
The proposed settlement includes a rollback and a five-year cap in swipe fees to deliver at least $29.79 billion in savings to US merchants over the next five years, according to Hilliard Shadowen, one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs.
Under the proposed settlement terms, the amount of transactions eligible to be competitively priced by merchants will rise to 96% of transactions from less than 20%, the law firm said.
Merchants will also have additional options to surcharge, including not surcharging other credit networks, and the ability to choose whether to accept US credit cards in categories such as commercial, premium consumer, and standard consumer, Visa said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The settlement also provides a reduction by 10 basis points in the US combined average effective credit interchange rate for five years, Visa and Mastercard said.
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