MasterCard has asked a federal judge to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit and damage claims brought against it by Wal-Mart Stores and other retailers.
The suit is scheduled to go to trial next April. It charges that both MasterCard and Visa forced retailers to accept debit cards with high transaction fees if they wanted to be able to accept traditional credit cards. If the retailers win the suit, the credit card companies could be liable for tens of billions of dollars in damages.
The suit is scheduled to go to trial next April. It charges that both MasterCard and Visa forced retailers to accept debit cards with high transaction fees if they wanted to be able to accept traditional credit cards. If the retailers win the suit, the credit card companies could be liable for tens of billions of dollars in damages.
- KC's View:
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We can only hope that the judge tosses out the request by MasterCard…because we remain appalled by the way the credit card companies conduct business…marketing these debit or “check cards” to the public while charging higher transaction fees for them than for PIN-based debit cards, which result in higher costs for both retailers and consumers.
We continue to think that Wal-Mart and other retailers ought to create an informational campaign to inform consumers why these debit/check cards are a bad choice.
Visa and MasterCard executives (and their attorneys) all ought to get coal in their stockings this Christmas.
