The new chief executive of Visa U.S.A. could meet with a top official of the National Retail Federation and the Merchants Payments Coalition as early as September to discuss interchange and other issues, according to a spokesman for both merchant organizations. John Philip Coghlan, the former Charles Schwab & Co. …

Declaring the need for litigation to bring credit card interchange rates under control, five small merchants today filed a class-action antitrust suit against Visa, MasterCard, and at least seven major banks. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, alleges the banks and their card …

The first order of business for the new Washington, D.C.-based merchant group formed earlier this year to lobby for regulation of card-interchange rates is to inform consumers and their representatives about the costs they incur because of interchange, says Mallory Duncan, chairman of the Merchants Payments Coalition. “Consumers don't appreciate …

A Washington, D.C.-based organization formed early this year by retail-industry trade groups says it is beginning to work out a plan of attack that it hopes will lead to regulation of the fees card-accepting merchants pay issuing banks. After years of friction between banks and merchants over the subject, this …

With Congress scheduled to adjourn Dec. 15, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., made a last-minute push on the Senate floor late Thursday, calling for a vote on the Credit Card Competition Act before adjournment. Durbin’s remarks, which also pushed back against arguments by  card networks and card issuers that the proposed …

Small businesses in Canada will reap lower interchange rates in that country, the Department of Finance Canada announced Thursday. The deal suggests a similar reduction is possible in the United States, the Merchant Payments Coalition quickly responded. Both Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc. agreed to lower the domestic consumer credit …

The latest controversy about the law, which passed in June, revolves around a study from the Electronic Payments Coalition that says the largest merchants stand to see millions of dollars in interchange relief from the law, while small merchants would receive minuscule savings by comparison. Released late Wednesday, the EPC …

Arguments over whether the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Illinois should grant a preliminary injunction to block the scheduled implementation of the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act were heard yesterday in Chicago. While the judge did not issue a ruling, she did question both plaintiffs and defendants …

Canada-based BMO Financial Group launched PaySmart in the U.S. market. PaySmart is a credit card feature that lets users divide transactions of $100 or more into installments over three, six, or 12 months at a monthly fee. Travel payments network UATP has added buy now, pay later platform Floa as another installment payment option. …

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin is refuting claims by plaintiffs in the Illinois interchange lawsuit that federal banking laws, such as the Durbin Amendment, supersede state laws. The latest back-and-forth is part of an unfolding lawsuit challenging the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act. In an amicus brief filed late Friday, Durbin …