And finally… “fee” fi fo fum, the judge smells a “paltry” sum

The aim of the settlement was to temporarily reduce and set a limit on interchange rates in credit transactions until 2030.

District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Margo Brodieissued an order stating that the court considered it unlikely to grant final approval for the settlement. It argued that the agreement unfairly favored small businesses over larger ones.

Accordingly, the plaintiff’s motion to approve the preliminary settlement was denied.

In court papers, the judge wrote that “the estimated $6 billion in annual savings to merchants is dwarfed by the $100 billion that merchants paid in interchange fees for Visa and Mastercard transactions in 2023,” adding that the payment services giants could “withstand a significantly higher sentence.” Bloomberg News reports.

The rejected settlement would have allowed retailers to charge extra fees for Visa or Mastercard transactions and steer consumers toward cheaper cards. Now, the parties involved should negotiate a better settlement or go to court.