Visa and Mastercard Reach Historic Settlement After Two-Decade Legal Battle
Visa and Mastercard have finalized a landmark settlement with U.S. merchants, ending a 20-year legal dispute over alleged anticompetitive practices. The agreement, announced on November 10, 2025, includes reduced interchange fees and new merchant protections.
Credit card processing fees will drop by 0.1 percentage points for five years, with standard rates capped at 1.25%. Merchants gain significant new rights - including the ability to reject high-fee cards and implement surcharges to offset processing costs.
The settlement establishes an educational fund to help small businesses navigate payment systems. This resolution comes after a previous 2024 deal was rejected by courts for providing inadequate merchant relief.