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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Attorney General Monday filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, MasterCard and American Express for preventing merchants from encouraging customers to use credit cards with lower merchant fees. Utah is joining the U.S. Department of Justice and 17 other states in the lawsuit against the nation's three largest credit card companies.
The complaint alleges violations of the Sherman Act by having rules, policies and practices that restrain trade and "insulate Defendants from competition." For example, credit card policies forbid merchants from criticizing cards, indicating they prefer another card or offer any incentives to use another card or payment method.
Visa and MasterCard have already agreed to a settlement, without admitting any wrongdoing. If approved by the court, the suit would end the anti-competitive practices, a release stated. American Express declined to settle and plans to fight the lawsuit.
According to the release, the three credit card companies have 94 percent of dollar volume for general purpose credit cards in the U.S. and 97 percent of the market for travel and entertainment merchants. Discover had the next highest market share with about 6 percent.
The lawsuit aims to get the credit card companies to eliminate all alleged practices that restrain trade; allow merchants to offer discounts, rebates or other incentives to use a card with a lower fee; and fund educational programs so merchants understand that they can inform customers about their card choices and potential savings.
E-mail:jlee@desnews.com
