Twenty-one years of litigation over the interchange fees Visa and Mastercard set for merchants. A November 2025 settlement would cut credit interchange by 10 basis points for five years, cap standard consumer card rates at 1.25 percent for eight years and let merchants refuse some premium cards and surcharge. The parties value it at about $38B in merchant savings through 2031. Walmart, the National Retail Federation and the Merchants Payments Coalition object and want the case tried instead.
LATEST DEVELOPMENT · JUN 15, 2026
The court has scheduled a final fairness hearing on the $38B injunctive-relief settlement for November 16, 2026, after which Judge Cogan will decide whether to grant final approval. Separately, on June 15, 2026, Cogan approved a second initial distribution of funds from the earlier 2019 damages settlement, expected to occur in September 2026.
BACKGROUND
Merchants who accept Visa and Mastercard cards sued the two networks and their member banks in 2005, alleging the networks collectively fixed interchange fees and imposed rules, like “honor all cards,” that stopped merchants from pushing back on those fees. The case was consolidated into a multidistrict litigation in the Eastern District of New York and has run for more than two decades, producing three attempted settlements before the current one.
A first settlement worth about $7.25B was approved by the district court in 2013 but was thrown out by the Second Circuit in 2016 after objecting merchants argued the deal traded away future rights to sue over rule changes for too little money. A second settlement, covering damages only, was approved in 2019 for about $5.54B and upheld by the Second Circuit in 2023, but it left a separate class seeking injunctive changes to the networks’ rules unresolved. A 2024 attempt to settle that injunctive claim, worth up to $30B, was rejected by the court as inadequate.
In November 2025, Visa and Mastercard offered a revised deal: a 10 basis point cut to credit interchange for five years, a 1.25 percent rate cap on standard consumer cards for eight years, and new rights for merchants to decline some premium cards and add surcharges. The parties value the package at roughly $38B in savings through 2031. Walmart, the National Retail Federation, NACS, and several consumer groups objected, arguing the fee cuts are smaller in real terms than the 2024 deal the court already rejected, that network assessment fees remain uncapped, and that the right to decline premium cards is largely symbolic given how many transactions run on rewards cards.
Judge Brian Cogan, who inherited the case after Judge Margo Brodie’s retirement, granted preliminary approval on June 9, 2026, saying it was too early to tell whether the objections reflected broad merchant sentiment or a vocal minority. Objectors have said they intend to appeal any final approval to the Second Circuit, meaning the case is likely to continue well past 2026.
TIMELINE
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JUN 15, 2026OTHERCourt approves second initial distribution from 2019 damages settlement fundFollowing a May 26, 2026 motion by class counsel, Judge Cogan approved a second initial distribution of funds from the earlier $5.54B 2019 damages settlement, covering claimants whose payment eligibility is now certain, with payment anticipated in September 2026.
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JUN 9, 2026JUDGMENTJudge Cogan grants preliminary approval over objectionsJudge Brian Cogan preliminarily approved the settlement, saying it was too early to know whether the objections reflected broad merchant consensus or a vocal minority. Objectors said they would appeal any final approval to the Second Circuit.
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APR 27, 2026HEARINGCogan holds hearing on preliminary approval, hears merchant objectionsJudge Cogan held a nearly three-hour hearing in which large merchants including Walmart, through counsel, objected to the revised $38B settlement while Visa, Mastercard and class counsel urged approval. Cogan did not rule from the bench and said a written ruling would follow.
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DEC 15, 2025FILINGWalmart and merchant groups object to the new settlementWalmart asked the court to split the merchant class, arguing large national retailers’ interests diverge from smaller merchants. NRF, NACS and consumer groups filed similar objections in the following days.
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NOV 10, 2025SETTLEMENTVisa and Mastercard offer revised settlement worth about $38BThe networks proposed a 10 basis point interchange cut for five years, a 1.25 percent cap on standard consumer card rates for eight years, and new merchant rights to decline some premium cards and add surcharges.
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JUN 2024PROCEDURALCourt rejects the 2024 injunctive-relief settlementThe district court found the proposed fee cuts and rule changes inadequate and declined to grant preliminary approval, sending the parties back to negotiate.
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MAR 2024SETTLEMENTVisa and Mastercard propose second settlement covering injunctive reliefSeparate from the damages settlement, the parties proposed a deal covering the remaining injunctive-relief class, valued at up to $30B, offering a rate reduction of at least seven basis points below December 2023 levels.
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MAR 2023APPEALSecond Circuit affirms the 2019 settlementThe Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s final approval order, modifying only the service awards to class representatives, clearing the way for claims processing to proceed.
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DEC 13, 2019JUDGMENTDistrict court grants final approval of $5.54B damages settlementJudge Margo K. Brodie approved a revised, damages-only settlement of approximately $5.54B covering merchants who accepted Visa and Mastercard cards from 2004 to 2019.
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JUN 2016APPEALSecond Circuit vacates approval of the 2012 settlementThe appeals court reversed the district court’s approval and class certification, finding the deal improperly released future injunctive claims of merchants who had not separately opted out, sending the case back for further litigation.
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JUL 2012SETTLEMENTParties reach first settlement, valued near $7.25BVisa, Mastercard and banks agreed to a settlement combining a cash payment with a temporary interchange-rate reduction and rule changes, later approved by the district court in 2013.
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2005FILINGMerchants sue Visa, Mastercard and member banks over interchange feesRetailers and trade associations filed antitrust suits alleging Visa, Mastercard and issuing banks conspired to fix interchange fees and imposed anticompetitive network rules. The cases were consolidated into MDL 1720 in the Eastern District of New York.