The judge overseeing the mammoth litigation involving credit card interchange said on Wednesday the controversial proposed settlement appears to meet the requirements for preliminary approval. Judge John Gleeson, however, also said he would hear merchants’ objections to the settlement struck by lawyers for the merchant plaintiffs and the payment card …
Read More »Retailers Prepare To Argue for a Rewrite of Debit Rules While Durbin Spars With Bankers
You’d almost think it was 2010 all over again, given the current fights about the Durbin Amendment, the section of that year’s Dodd-Frank Act that regulates debit card interchange and transaction routing. Oral arguments are set for Oct. 3 in a retailer lawsuit that seeks to have a court order …
Read More »Square Enters Big-Time Acquiring with Its Cube-Less Starbucks Deal
The announcement late on Tuesday that Square Inc. struck a deal with coffee giant Starbucks Corp. for the first time puts Square, a specialist in bringing mobile-payment acceptance to small businesses and consumers, into the role of a more traditional card processor for a large national merchant. And at least …
Read More »Durbin Decries Credit Card Interchange Settlement, Hints at Small-Ticket Debit Fix
The chief sponsor of the Durbin Amendment that regulates debit card interchange is calling the proposed settlement in a big credit card interchange court fight “a stunning giveaway” and “a capitulation to the Wall Street banks and credit card giants.” In addition, U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., wants to fix …
Read More »MasterCard Reports Gains from Durbin Rules, Comments on Interchange Settlement
MasterCard Inc. reported second-quarter results on Wednesday that indicate continuing gains in its debit card business, and in PIN debit in particular, in the wake of federal debit regulations that forced issuers to add new networks to the cards they issue. MasterCard’s gains in debit come in the wake of …
Read More »As Big Chains Chafe at Settlement, Smaller Retailers Celebrate the Deal
With each passing day, the proposed settlement of the giant antitrust suit over credit card interchange and card network rules appears to unravel even more as big-box merchants increasingly express dissatisfaction with the $7-billion-plus deal. The latest is Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which issued a statement on Tuesday opposing the agreement …
Read More »Not All Merchants Are Happy with the $7-Billion-Plus Credit Card Settlement
No sooner had the ink dried on a proposed settlement of a massive credit card suit than cracks began to appear in what had been an edifice of merchant solidarity. The NACS, a national trade group for convenience-store operators, on Friday said its board of directors had unanimously rejected the …
Read More »Durbin or No, First Data Figures Show Debit Continues To Flourish
Worried about getting too far in debt and nearly oblivious to the ongoing debate in the banking and payments industries about the controversial Durbin Amendment, consumers in June continued to display their allegiance to debit cards, according to new figures from First Data Corp. The nation’s leading payment card processor …
Read More »Merchants Wring More Than $7 Billion out of Networks, Banks in Credit Card Settlement
The card networks, major U.S. banks, and U.S. merchants reached a $7-billion-plus settlement late on Friday, capping a seven-year battle over credit card interchange and network acceptance rules. If approved by the court, the settlement will be the largest such agreement ever in an antitrust case. Under the terms of …
Read More »Brooklyn Court Could Be More Inclined to Rule Reform Than Interchange Cuts
With a trial date looming in September, speculation is rising that a major antitrust case challenging credit card interchange will result in new rules handing merchants wider latitude in surcharging for transactions, routing payments, and steering customers to other cards or forms of payment. Settlement talks in the case, known …
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