The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear a bid by retailers to revive a $7.25 billion antitrust settlement they reached with Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. over claims the card networks improperly fixed credit and debit card fees, Reuters reported. The Court left in place a 2016 lower court decision that threw out the settlement on the basis that it was unfair to retailers that stood to receive no payments and derive no other benefits. The brief Supreme Court order noted that Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito did not participate in consideration of whether to take up the appeal. The settlement had been intended to resolve claims that merchants were overcharged on interchange fees, or "swipe fees," when shoppers used credit or debit cards, and were barred from directing customers toward cheaper means of payment. The deal had been the largest all-cash U.S. antitrust settlement, although its value shrank to about $5.7 billion after roughly 8,000 retailers "opted out."
