Retailers applaud Department of Justice action against unfair credit-card practices

Washington, D.C. The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) joined other retail trade organizations on Monday to welcome news that the U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to a settlement with Visa and MasterCard and opened a case against American Express regarding networks’ anti-competitive practices.

“Merchants, small and large, welcome today’s news,” said senior VP government affairs John Emling. “With today’s announcement, the U.S. Department of Justice joins countless legislative and regulatory bodies in the U.S. and around the world who have taken action to reign in the anti-competitive practices of the credit-card industry. 

“The fact is credit and debit networks operate within a broken market where a few dominant firms set fees and dictate terms with impunity, causing harm to both merchants and consumers. Today’s news from the DOJ coupled with the actions of Congress and the rulemaking underway at the Federal Reserve give merchants across America hope that transparency and accountability will soon be brought to this broken system.”