Visa, Mastercard ‘Swipe Fee’ Case Becomes Antitrust Class Action

Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. must face a certified class action on behalf of businesses seeking to force the credit card giants to reduce the “swipe fees” they charge on each transaction using their payment networks, a federal judge in Brooklyn ruled Monday.

Judge Margo K. Brodie conferred class status on the merchants leading the long-running multidistrict case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, where parallel claims seeking antitrust damages previously settled for $6.2 billion. The businesses are now seeking an injunction.

Brodie’s ruling came in a sealed opinion, so her reasoning wasn’t immediately ...