Visa and Mastercard Agree to Cut U.S. Interchange Fees to 2.5%
According to The Wall Street Journal, citing informed sources, Visa and Mastercard are nearing a settlement with U.S. retailers that would lower transaction fees and give merchants greater flexibility in choosing which types of credit cards to accept.
Under the reported agreement, the two payment giants would reduce interchange fees—which typically range between 2% and 2.5% per transaction—by about 10 basis points over the coming years.
More flexibility for merchants
The settlement would also ease rules requiring retailers to accept all card types within a network if they choose to accept one, granting them more control over the payment methods they process.
The deal aims to resolve a long-running legal dispute dating back to 2005, in which retailers accused Visa and Mastercard of imposing excessively high transaction fees and restricting their ability to steer customers toward cheaper payment options.