Credit Card Settlement: Cash Is King

By: Jill Schlesinger

The Department of Justice accused Visa, Mastercard and American Express of anti-competitive business practices that violate Federal antitrust laws. Visa and Mastercard have already settled, while AMEX is fighting the suit.

The charges surround merchant or swipe fees that businesses pay credit card companies to process charges. These fees range from 1.5 - 5 percent of the value of the purchase, or $35 billion in annual fees to credit card companies.

I discussed the law suit, settlement and why you may be saying cash is king a little more often with CBS2.

The bottom line: after the courts grant approval to the deal in a couple of months, merchants will be permitted to charge less if customers use cards that have lower fees, amounting to millions of dollars in savings for consumers.

Jill Schlesinger
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Jill Schlesinger, CFP®, is the Editor-at-Large for CBS MoneyWatch. She covers the economy, markets, investing or anything else with a dollar sign. Prior to the launch of MoneyWatch in 2009, Jill was the chief investment officer for an independent investment advisory firm. In her infancy, she was an options trader on the Commodities Exchange of New York.
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