Payments on Fire™ Episode 281 - Fanning the Flames - Unpacking the Latest Proposed Settlement of the Payment Card Interchange Litigation
Nov 21, 2025
Bryan Derman, Russ Jones, and Chris Uriarte dive into the proposed settlement of an antitrust case involving Visa and Mastercard. They break down the settlement's three-part structure, including selective card acceptance and interchange changes. Merchants' initial reactions reveal skepticism about the actual savings. The discussion touches on e-commerce challenges and how small merchants might be impacted. With potential judicial approval looming, the hosts emphasize the need for merchant education on the complex new landscape.
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Merchants Can Select Card Categories
- The settlement lets merchants accept or reject categories of credit cards by introducing three card categories: standard consumer, premium consumer, and commercial.
- Networks will require category branding on cards and merchant disclosure of which categories they accept, changing the honor-all-cards norm.
Interchange Cuts Are Small But Time-Locked
- The settlement freezes the networks' weighted-average domestic credit interchange 10 basis points below March's level for five years.
- It also caps standard consumer credit interchange at 1.25% for eight years, constraining future pricing dynamics.
Surcharging Flexibility Replaces Uniform Treatment
- The networks would allow category- and product-specific surcharging and discounting, removing the prior requirement to treat all credit products the same.
- Networks can create new interchange tiers tied to merchant surcharging behavior and negotiate to discourage surcharging.