American Express Co. won preliminary court approval of a settlement with U.S. merchants over transaction fees that the retailers say complements a multibillion-dollar accord with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., Bloomberg News reported yesterday. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis made the ruling yesterday and scheduled a Sept. 17 hearing on final approval. The deal allows shops to encourage customers to use debit cards, which cost retailers less to process than credit card purchases. The accord “unlocks the value” of the settlement with Visa and MasterCard, lawyers for businesses that accept American Express cards said in a Dec. 20 court filing. Under that settlement, Visa and MasterCard offered businesses some ability to add surcharges to credit-card transactions as a way to steer customers away from them.
