A customer picks out a $4,200 sectional and hands you a metal rewards card. That card costs you more to take than a plain one. Today, if you take Visa or Mastercard credit cards at all, you can’t turn it down.
That may change. A federal judge in Brooklyn has set a final approval hearing for November 16 on the swipe-fee settlement between Visa, Mastercard and merchants. Visa and Mastercard asked the court last week to approve it. Walmart, the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association are among those asking the judge to reject it.
You’re already part of this case
The settlement covers every business that accepted Visa or Mastercard in the U.S. between December 18, 2020 and June 13, 2026, and the court’s order says no one can opt out. The judge put the class at over 12 million merchants. If you take cards, the outcome applies to your store whether or not you’ve followed the case.
What would change if the judge approves it
The settlement agreement does three things you’d notice at the counter.
First, a small rate cut. Each network has to bring its average credit card interchange (the fee the card-issuing bank keeps from every sale) at least 10 basis points, or 0.10%, below the two networks’ combined average for the 12 months ending March 31, 2025, and hold it there for five years. That’s an average across the whole network, not a promise about your statement. Posted rates on standard consumer credit cards, the ones without premium rewards, get capped at 1.25%.
Second, the right to say no to whole kinds of cards. Today, taking Visa credit means taking every Visa credit card. Under the settlement, you could decide separately whether to accept debit, standard consumer credit, premium consumer credit, and commercial credit. The premium tier covers cards like Visa Signature and Infinite and Mastercard World and World Elite.
Third, more room to steer. You could nudge customers toward cheaper cards with discounts, or add a surcharge on credit cards at the brand or the card-type level. The cap is 3% or your average interchange and network fees on those cards, whichever is less — and that cost doesn’t include your processor’s markup. State surcharging law still applies on top, and it varies a lot.
The settlement hands you a choice. It doesn’t tell you whether taking it is a good idea.
The fine print on turning cards away
If you decide to stop taking a category, the agreement sets the rules:
- You must give your acquirer, the bank behind your processing, at least 30 days’ written notice, naming the categories you’ll decline and any processor or payment facilitator that will handle it.
- You have to tell customers at the point of sale, and the notice can’t knock the card or suggest the network made the call. Saying you prefer a lower-cost card is allowed.
- It’s all or nothing by category. You can’t take one bank’s premium cards and refuse another’s. And the networks can require the same choice at every location you run under the same name.
The agreement also requires newly issued premium and commercial cards to say so on the card: “Signature” or “Infinite” on Visa, “World,” “World Elite” or “World Legend” on Mastercard, and “Business,” “Corporate” or “Commercial” on either. As older cards are replaced, your staff could spot premium and business cards at the register.
When it would start
Nothing changes on November 16 itself. The judge may rule that day or later. If the court approves the deal, the agreement gives each network 90 days to change its card-acceptance rules, and the rate cut starts no earlier than four months after approval, timed to the networks’ April and October rate updates. The National Association of Convenience Stores said in June it will appeal to the 2nd Circuit if the deal gets final approval. KBW analysts expect a “lengthy” appeal, and American Banker reported in June that this could push final implementation to 2029.
What to find out before November 16
- 01What share of your card sales run on premium and commercial cards. Ask your processor for last year broken out by card category. If most of your big sales come in on rewards cards, declining them may cost you more than the fee.
- 02Whether a lower interchange rate would show up on your statement. If you pay one flat rate for every card, ask your processor whether a network rate cut would change what you pay.
- 03Whether your terminal can tell card types apart. Steering by card type only works if the terminal can see the type before the sale goes through.
- 04Who would send the 30-day notice. If you ever decide to decline a category, someone has to put it in writing to your acquirer — and name your processor while they’re at it.
Get those answers on paper now, while the case is still open. Then whichever way the judge rules, you’re deciding with your own numbers in hand.
Joe Radest
1 Step Technologies — Peachtree City, GA. 25+ years in the payment industry, over $50M in volume a month.