EPC Statement on Release of Visa, Mastercard, Merchant Settlement Opinion

Date: June 28, 2024
Media Contact:
Nick Simpson
Nick@electronicpaymentscoalition.org

WASHINGTON, DC — Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) Executive Chairman Richard Hunt issued the following statement after the opinion in the $30 billion settlement reached by Visa, Mastercard and merchants – 90% of which were small businesses – was released earlier today:

“The corporate mega-stores and their DC lobbyists always opposed this agreement because it treated every retailer – regardless of size – equally. Walmart said as much in its objection. They are instead pushing for the Durbin-Marshall mandates because it stacks the deck for the big guys and against small businesses. Independent research has found the proposed mandates primarily benefit the largest corporate chains and the Congressional Research Service questioned whether small businesses would see any benefit at all.”

NOTE: In its filing objecting to the settlement agreement, Walmart said small businesses “traded away the interests of large national merchants for relief that is worthless to the members with the most at stake in this litigation.” The settlement would have provided businesses an estimated $30 billion in relief along with other technical provisions requested by small business owners.

Last year, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reported, “it is unlikely a small business would be aware of a smaller network, and even if it did offer payment on that network, the odds that a bank would issue a card enabled for that exact network are relatively small. Second, if it is impactful, it is unclear who would benefit.” And, a report from the University of Miami found “the largest U.S. retailers would effectively receive a transfer of approximately $2.9 billion from issuers and cardholders impacted by the legislation. But small businesses would save significantly less, if anything, putting small retailers at a further competitive disadvantage than is currently the case.”