Merchants Lose Bid to Defend Illinois Ban on Bank Swipe Fees

Retailers can’t join in the defense of an Illinois law banning bank “swipe fees” on sales taxes and tips, a federal judge ruled.

The National Association of Convenience Stores, the National Retail Federation, Food Marketplace Inc., and two Illinois merchant trade groups had sought to become intervenor defendants in litigation over the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act.

But Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul (D) is providing an adequate defense of the law, so there’s no need for additional defendants, Judge Virginia M. Kendall of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled Friday.

Adding defendants also threatens ...