The National Retail Federation (NRF) has objected a
recent legal settlement between Visa, Mastercard, and merchants. NRF said that
the settlement is insufficient to address long-standing grievances. According
to a filing before US Chief District Judge Margo Brodie, concerns linger over
the fairness and lasting impact of the agreement despite the potential benefits
of reduced fees.

NRF Challenges Visa and Mastercard

Recently, Visa and Mastercard announced a settlement
to end a long-standing dispute between merchants and the card network
giants. NRF perceives this settlement, which aims to address overcharges, as
inadequate in providing relief to merchants. The dispute between merchants and Visa and Mastercard
spans nearly two decades. It involves allegations of overcharging merchants
during credit card transactions.

NRF termed the proposed settlement a “meager
and temporary” relief for merchants. Visa and Mastercard had pledged to
lower transaction fees and implement caps over a five-year period. However, the
NRF contends that such measures fall short of addressing the financial burden
borne by retailers.

“Financial relief offered by the settlement
is meager and temporary. For example, the proposed settlement would reduce each
Visa and Mastercard credit card interchange rate category by four basis points
for three years, and reduce their overall average rates by seven basis points
for five years,” NRF wrote.

Additionally, the federation is concerned about the
fairness of the settlement, particularly due to the absence of input from major
retailers and their representative associations in the negotiation process. Besides financial considerations, NRF cited the lack
of transparency and adequate consultation with key stakeholders. The federation
also questions the timing of the settlement, which followed recent legal
developments favoring the merchants.

Decades of Legal Battles

NRF added: “Additionally, the settlement agreement
fails to take aim at a crucial category of fees. It temporarily reduces the
fees that Visa and Mastercard fix on behalf of banks—the interchange fees—but
not the network fees that that are paid directly to Visa and Mastercard.”

In addition to challenging the settlement, the NRF is
engaging in broader advocacy efforts to improve credit card processing. The
coalition, which includes the NRF, is lobbying Congress to pass legislation
such as the Credit Card Competition Act.

This bipartisan-backed bill seeks to enhance
competition in the card network industry by mandating the availability of
alternative processing options beyond Visa and Mastercard.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

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