MasterCard settles retailer antitrust suit for $335 million

MasterCard settles retailer antitrust suit for $335 million
Tags: Bank / Credit Union, Debit / Credit, North America, Other, Public Companies, Regulatory Issues, Transaction Processing, Trends / Statistics
July 12, 2009

TheStreet.com: MasterCard Worldwide Inc. plans to pay $335 million to settle a class action suit alleging it violated federal antitrust regulations. MasterCard settled the suit in June 2003 with a number of U.S. merchants that took issue with certain antitrust aspects of the payment card industry. Under the settlement, MasterCard was required to pay $125 million in 2003 and $100 million annually from December 2004 through 2012. Retailers, including Walmart Stores, brought the suit against MasterCard and Visa in 1996, claiming the associations violated antitrust laws by "tying acceptance of debit to (the) acceptance of credit (cards)."

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