BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart urged retailers to reject a proposed $6 billion settlement that Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and major banks have agreed to pay retailers for alleged fee fixing.
The settlement, reached earlier this month, had been considered a victory for retailers. It settled a lawsuit that claimed card issuers conspired to fix merchants’ fees for accepting credit cards. Retailers have long complained about the billions of dollars in “swipe” or “interchange” fees that that they have had to pay, which average about 2 percent of the price of a purchase.
Under the settlement, stores will be allowed to charge customers more if they pay with a credit card.
But the world’s largest retailer said Tuesday that the settlement doesn’t restrict credit card issuers from continually raising fees merchants must pay when shoppers use their cards. The Bentonville, Ark., company also says the settlement would require retailers to waive their rights to take action against card issuers.
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