Visa Inc. (V) and MasterCard Inc. (MA) are firing back at retail trade groups trying to derail a pending $7.25 billion settlement over so-called merchant swipe fees.
The world’s largest payment networks asked a federal judge Friday to rule that their practices for setting fees paid by merchants that accept credit and debit cards aren’t anticompetitive, which could limit the type of lawsuits retailers could bring against the companies in the future.
Such a ruling is “necessary to prevent the continuation of endless, wasteful litigation” between merchant trade groups and Visa and MasterCard, the companies said in a complaint seeking declaratory judgment filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.