NRF blasts swipe-fee settlement

The class-action settlement between merchants and Visa and MasterCard is signed, sealed and delivered. A federal judge approved the $5.7 billion -- that’s an estimate -- class-action settlement over credit card fees.

It’s a settlement that is believed to be the biggest of its kind for antitrust matters. And the National Retail Federation is not happy.

“We are very disappointed that this deeply flawed settlement has been approved,” said Mallory Duncan, NRF senior VP and general counsel, in a prepared statement. “It is not supported by the retail industry and would do nothing to reduce swipe fees or keep them from rising in the future.”

Credit card swipe fees cost merchants and their customers an estimated $30 billion a year and have tripled over the past decade, according to the NRF’s analysis.

Duncan continued: “The settlement permanently ties the hands of thousands of businesses who wanted nothing to do with this misguided case, and a decision to approve it violates established law and common sense. We are reviewing the ruling and will take whatever steps are necessary to protect the rights of merchants and safeguard the pocketbooks of their customers.”