CityWire reports that Walmart has filed suit against Visa, "claiming the defendant conspired with large banks to fix interchange fees charged to merchants between Jan 1, 2004 and Nov. 27, 2012 … The suit claims that Visa raised interchange fees by 234% between 1998 to 2006. The complaint also alleges Visa’s anticompetitive conduct generated more than $350 billion in interchange fees for the colluding issuers during the damages period — fees that Wal-Mart and other retailers paid and continue to pay."
The story notes that Walmart was among the retailers that rejected a $7.25 billion settlement that was reached between some retailers and both Visa and MasterCard, saying that it did nothing to reduce fees and make them transparent. Visa subsequently sued Walmart, seeking "to block Wal-Mart from pursuing more damages with an injunction," the story says.
“Wal-Mart and all other merchants were subjected to rules and practices that harmed competition, suppressed fraud preventing technology in the U.S., and inflated interchange fees charged to merchants when customers used their credit and debit cards. As a result, many merchants were forced to pass on some of these artificially high fees to consumers,” says Walmart corporate spokesman Randy Hargrove.
The story notes that Walmart was among the retailers that rejected a $7.25 billion settlement that was reached between some retailers and both Visa and MasterCard, saying that it did nothing to reduce fees and make them transparent. Visa subsequently sued Walmart, seeking "to block Wal-Mart from pursuing more damages with an injunction," the story says.
“Wal-Mart and all other merchants were subjected to rules and practices that harmed competition, suppressed fraud preventing technology in the U.S., and inflated interchange fees charged to merchants when customers used their credit and debit cards. As a result, many merchants were forced to pass on some of these artificially high fees to consumers,” says Walmart corporate spokesman Randy Hargrove.
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