by Kim Souza (ksouza@talkbusiness.net)

U.S. retailers and merchants reached a settlement over swipe fees with Visa and Mastercard that is expected to reduce swipe fees over the next five years by $29.79 billion.

Through the agreement, which merchants say is one of the largest in U.S. antitrust history, Visa and Mastercard will lower published credit-card interchange fees by four basis points in the U.S. for at least three years. The companies also won’t raise interchange fees for five years above the rates that were in place at the end of 2023.

“This settlement is the culmination of eight years of hard-fought litigation and detailed, painstaking negotiations. It provides comprehensive market-based solutions to too-high swipe fees while providing immediate fee relief to merchants as they make these new competitive tools work for them,” said Steve Shadowen, co-lead counsel for the retailers.

Retailers win class-action settlement with Visa, Mastercard over swipe fees