US: Visa sues Home Depot to block new attack against swipe-fees

After Home Depot decided to opt out of the massive, recently-approved settlement offered by Visa and MasterCard to end litigation against their alleged manipulation of swipe-fee rates, reports say the Home Depot, looking to launch its own fight against the fees, is now being sued by Visa to block such a suit.

Visa reportedly filed the law suit last Tuesday in New York in efforts to have a judge rule that the home construction outlet does not have legal standing to recoup damages sought from the swipe-fee allegations. Visa and MasterCard were sued by a group of some of the nation’s largest retailers, alleging the credit card firms colluded to raise swipe-fee, or interchange fee, prices.

The credit card firms settled for more than $5 billion, lower than the original $7.25 billion offered due to so many retailers opting out of the settlement.

The Home Depot was one of those stores that opted out of the offer; Visa is now looking to legally block the merchant from being able to file a new suit over the interchange fee allegations.

Full Content: BizJournals

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