San Francisco Sues American Express for Excessive Card Fees

San Francisco sued American Express Co. for allegedly stifling competition with excessive fees, seeking billions of dollars in restitution to merchants (California v. Am. Express Co., Cal. Super. Ct., 15-548854, complaint filed 11/6/15).

“The party is over for American Express,” City Attorney Dennis Herrera said Nov. 19 in a statement.

“American Express for years has exacted a 3 percent fee on each charge card transaction—well in excess of fees charged [by] such competitors as Visa and MasterCard,” and Amex “strictly prohibited its participating merchants from taking any step to encourage consumers’ use of less costly payment methods, ...