"Merchants expand Credit-Card Fight" (WSJ, June 23)
June 23, 2005 - Merchants Expand Credit-Card Fight Lawsuits That Claim Visa, MasterCard Collude on Fees Could Hit Issuers' ProfitsBy JOHN R. WILKE and ROBIN SIDEL Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL June 23, 2005; The nation's largest banks face a growing legal and regulatory threat to one of their richest sources of profit: the more than $20 billion in transaction fees they charge merchants each year on every credit-card purchase made through MasterCard International Inc. or Visa USA Inc.More merchants are challenging these fees, alleging that banks -- acting collectively through Visa and MasterCard -- are illegally fixing prices. Some recently have won large, undisclosed settlements with Visa and MasterCard that slash the charges, known as interchange fees. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, won concessions valued at more than $1 billion, while others, including Best Buy Co., Toys "R" Us Inc., Home Depot Inc. and CVS Corp. are negotiating or have already won fee cuts, lawyers close to these cases said. ... Another plaintiff, Mitch Goldstone, president of 30 Minute Photo etc., an online photo service in Irvine, Calif., calls Visa and MasterCard "a giant cartel working against merchants and imposing a hidden charge on consumers."....
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