Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and some of the biggest U.S. banks agreed to a settlement of at least $6.05 billion with retailers in a price-fixing case over interchange fees, according to a filing in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.
The total value of the settlement is $7.25 billion on behalf of a class of about 7 million merchants in the U.S. that accept Visa and MasterCard credit cards and debit cards, a law firm for the merchants — Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP — said in a statement.
The agreement follows a seven-year legal battle with U.S. retailers that accused the two largest payment networks of conspiring with banks to fix swipe fees, or interchange.
The dispute began in 2005, a year before MasterCard’s initial public offering and three years ahead of San Francisco-based Visa’s. Merchants alleged the companies violated antitrust law by fixing the swipe fees, which average about 2 percent of the purchase price. Proceeds generate more than $40 billion a year for U.S. banks.
The case had been set for trial in September.
