Lowe’s Joins Opposition to Swipe Fee Settlement

[Monday, August 27, 2012]  Lowe’s has joined the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and other retail trade organizations in criticizing the proposed swipe fee settlement and urged class plaintiffs to reject the proposal, according to a press release. Announced in July, the proposed settlement stems from lawsuits challenging the "anticompetitive swipe fee practices of Visa and MasterCard."

“Hidden credit card and debit card interchange fees cost retailers billions of dollars a year that ultimately get passed along to customers. The proposed settlement preserves the Visa/MasterCard duopoly and does nothing to prohibit the credit card networks from continually increasing hidden swipe fees, potentially restricts new payment innovations that could bring competition to the marketplace, and, provides no transparency to the retailer or the customer of what the credit card networks charge,” said Scott Mason, Lowe’s vice president of government affairs. Read More ...