Visa and Mastercard Reach Settlement
- Buster Wurm
- Nov 11, 2025
- 2 min read
Visa and Mastercard have agreed to a landmark settlement with U.S. merchants, ending more than two decades of litigation over credit card fees and acceptance rules. The agreement, confirmed in filings and reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, will reduce the average charges retailers pay each time a card is swiped by about 0.1 percentage points for the next five years. Analysts estimate that the deal could ultimately save merchants more than $200 billion, making it one of the largest antitrust settlements in U.S. history.
Under the new terms, Visa and Mastercard will relax their long-standing “honor all cards” rule, which requires retailers to accept every card bearing their logo if they accept any at all. Merchants will now have the option to reject certain high-fee premium cards, such as JPMorgan Chase’s Sapphire Reserve, which have grown increasingly popular with consumers but carry higher processing costs for businesses. The companies also plan to introduce new merchant education initiatives and expand options for surcharges, providing stores with greater flexibility in managing transaction costs.
Visa described the deal as a resolution that delivers “meaningful relief” and greater control for businesses. At the same time, Mastercard said it provides “clarity, flexibility, and consumer protections.” Yet not all reactions have been positive. The Merchant Payments Coalition criticized the modest fee reductions, arguing that Visa and Mastercard could still raise other charges to offset the cuts. Many analysts doubt that retailers will refuse premium cards, noting that doing so could alienate customers or reduce sales.
If approved by the court, the agreement could significantly reshape payment dynamics nationwide, altering how consumers utilize rewards for cards and how merchants manage their expenses. It represents a rare concession from two dominant networks under antitrust scrutiny, signaling a shift toward greater transparency and competition in the multitrillion-dollar U.S. payments industry.
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