Visa and Mastercard announced an agreement on Monday with merchants that would end a 20-year legal battle over swipe fees in which businesses claimed the credit card giants violated U.S. antitrust laws.
The settlement calls for Visa and Mastercard to lower swipe fees, which are added to each transaction, by 0.1 percent for the next five years. The fees are between 2 percent and 2.5 percent currently.
Visa, based in San Francisco, notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the proposal in a statement.
“The proposed settlement with U.S. merchants of all sizes would provide meaningful relief, more flexibility and options to control how they accept payments from customers,” Visa stated….