NACS Objects to Swipe Fee Settlement

NACS this week filed comments in the In re Payment Card Interchange Fee litigation, arguing the settlement does nothing that would practically disturb the fundamental features of the existing scheme. Meanwhile, decades of litigation—and repeated litigation victories against the card networks—goes to waste under the proposed settlement.

The current proposal, released in November 2025, is the third proposed settlement. Each of the first two proposed settlements were rejected by courts. But while this settlement is “revised somewhat” from the 2024 proposal, its provisions still do not provide meaningful relief and it would lower swipe fees only a “miniscule” one-tenth of a percentage point.

“None of the previous settlement proposals has ever conceded meaningful ground on the core conspiracy that allows Defendants to set prices without market competition between the entities that receive those fees—the banks. Courts have rejected them all. The current settlement proposal is simply a repackaged version of the inadequate and properly-rejected 2024 settlement agreement with cosmetic, rather than structural, changes. Under the proposed settlement, Defendants’ scheme remains insulated from interbank competition that would push prices downward, merchants lack any meaningful negotiating power while receiving largely illusory relief, and Defendants’ exorbitant and noncompetitive interchange rates would artificially remain the highest in the world,” NACS wrote in the filing.

NACS’ objection follows the filing of a complementary objection from 978 merchants including businesses in every U.S. state and Puerto Rico.

“The proposed settlement is subterfuge for approving the bad practices of the credit card industry and the large number and wide range of merchants of all categories and sizes signing this letter show it,” NACS Senior Vice President for Government Relations and General Counsel Doug Kantor said. “The vast majority of merchants and other businesses that accept credit cards oppose the proposal. This is the third time that the credit card industry has tried to abuse the court process to protect its anticompetitive business practices. It should be rejected just like it has been in the past.”

The reduction, which would apply only to interchange fees that go to card-issuing banks and let network fees that go to Visa and Mastercard themselves continue to rise, would last only five years.

The court will hear oral argument on the objections in November of this year before deciding whether to approve the settlement. Any decision on final approval is likely to be appealed.