The Visa Mastercard settlement is a BAD deal.
And we need your help telling Congress.
A closer look at the proposed settlement shows why: this is a sweetheart deal for Visa, Mastercard, and their biggest card issuers, and it spells major problems for merchants and consumers.
The credit card industry is running to Congress and using the settlement to say “credit card reform is no longer needed.”
This couldn’t be farther from the truth.
The settlement does nothing to actually bring competitive market forces to swipe fees or change the behavior of a cartel that centrally fixes rates and bars competition. Instead, it tries to provide token, temporary relief and then allows the card companies to raise rates yet again.
Not only does the proposed settlement not stop cartel pricing by Visa and Mastercard, it extends it into the future. Rather than fix the problem, the proposed settlement cuts off the legal rights of any other merchant or group to challenge the credit card cartel pricing model.
This only reinforces the need for the Credit Card Competition Act and congressional intervention. Congress needs to act so that we will have real reform that will benefit Main Street retailers and their customers.
The Credit Card Competition Act would inject real competition into the marketplace by allowing retailers to choose which networks to route their credit card transactions over, improving prices and security. And if passed, the bill is expected to save convenience retailers and their customers $9,000 annually per store.