Visa, Mastercard, major banks facing new litigation over 'anticompetitive' fees

	Visa, Mastercard, major banks facing new litigation over 'anticompetitive' fees(classaction.org)
	592 points by DeepLogin 6 days ago \| 435 comments
	tl;dr: A San Diego pizzeria has filed a proposed class action against Visa, Mastercard, and major banks (BofA, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo), alleging they conspire to fix interchange fees that now cost merchants over $100 billion annually. The suit seeks to cover merchants from January 25, 2019 onward—the cutoff date of a prior $5 billion settlement—arguing those merchants have received no compensation for ongoing anticompetitive conduct.
	HN Discussion: ↑Alternative payment methods like ACH are disrupting card networks by offering lower merchant fees ↑Simple reforms allowing surcharging and card selection would introduce competition and lower fees ↑Payment middlemen add little value and should perhaps become a public utility ↓The lawsuit misses that acquirers, not networks, set merchant discount rates ~Cards aren't pure deadweight loss since cash has its own costs and cards boost spending