Numerous merchants and merchant groups have publicly declared their opposition to a controversial proposed settlement to the big credit card interchange litigation pending in federal court. In hopes of turning the settlement into a political issue, nine trade associations on Thursday took their beefs about it to Congress. In a …

The National Retail Federation announced on Tuesday that it is ready go to court to challenge the controversial proposed settlement to a massive group of merchant lawsuits against the bank card networks and some leading banks over card interchange. The NRF’s entry into the fray is the latest indication of …

Visa Inc.’s complicated new Fixed Acquirer Network Fee, or FANF, has caused considerable head scratching if not outright consternation for merchant acquirers, independent sales organizations, and merchants since it took effect in April. But, in addition to figuring out FANF’s mysteries, the acquiring industry needs to account for a new …

Steve Mott Financial institutions and retailers are natural allies—not enemies—and nowhere can this alliance yield more profitable results than in mobile payments. Here are five problems the two sides must solve to make the most of this great mobile alliance—along with five proposed solutions.(Editor’s note: This article is the second …

Born of the transformed world wrought by Durbin, Visa’s new acquirer fee is either a rational response to changed economics or a diabolical exercise of raw power, depending on whom you ask. By John Stewart Bruce Reisman is an angry man. “I’m not a happy camper. I’m constantly looking for …

The nation’s biggest debit card issuers have reversed polarity and are now promoting PIN-debit cards over signature debit and small-value transactions over bigger tickets, if the results of a debit study released this week are any indication. “Certainly, there’s a fundamental shift under way” among large banks to focus on …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …