American Booksellers Association, National Grocers Association, et al v Visa, Mastercard
Additional Retailers Join the Fight Over Credit Card Fees
In addition to the multiple companies suing Visa and Mastercard over excessive processing fees, two more retail groups announced that they have filed class action suits against Visa USA, MasterCard Inc. and a number of major banks over the fees they charge for processing credit card transactions.
The target of the cases is interchange fees, which are paid by the merchants each time a customer uses a debit or credit card to pay for a purchase. The fees ultimately are passed on to consumers by way of higher prices.
"Soaring interchange fees are devastating the retail industry and increasing costs for all American consumers," Thomas K. Zaucha, National Grocers Association's president and chief executive, said in a statement. He blamed the rising fees on lack of a competitive market.
A similar suit was filed in September 2005 by four of the nation's largest merchant associations. The plaintiffs in the earlier case — the National Association of Convenience Stores, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association and the National Cooperative Grocers Association — represent thousands of merchants nationwide.
All of the suits accuse Visa, MasterCard Inc. and the card associations member banks of engaging in collusive practices in setting their interchange fees.
Both Visa and MasterCard have argued that the fees are fair and have promised to fight the suits.
