Visa, Mastercard flush $6.2 billion down the toilet
Sanebull on Don’t violate antitrust laws… because it could cost you $6.2 billion and 13 years of your life. That number, a billion with a capital ‘B’ is what Visa and Mastercard were required to pay as a settlement for, well, violating antitrust laws. The lawsuit was settled back in 2012 but rejected by major retailers as ‘unfair’ and eventually overturned on an appeal.
Okay, so this settlement… represents a $900 million increase from the original one and still must be approved by the court. However, as you can imagine, both companies are excited to put this behind them and move forward. As for the retailers…they’re excited the extra cash.
The biggest retailers… opted out of the settlement and that includes Walmart, Target, and Kroger. These stores represent the top 1% of merchants and were able to negotiate better deals on their own. However, the other 99% saw justice served, and it was a victory for the little guys. So, what did we learn today?
