Visa and Mastercard Escape Gas Stations’ State Antitrust Claims

Visa and Mastercard will not have to face antitrust claims from gas station owners and Square Inc. users that said they weren’t included in a $5.6 billion damages settlement over the credit card companies’ so-called swipe fees, the Second Circuit ruled Monday.

The court rejected attempts by the owners of primarily Shell- and BP-owned gas stations and merchants of Square to argue the 2019 settlement agreement—reached after nearly 15 years of litigation—doesn’t apply to them as indirect purchasers of Visa’s and Mastercard’s credit card processing services. The agreement only applies to direct purchasers, the groups argued in two ...