Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Similar suits have been filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and six other states.
The suit alleges the credit card companies have forced merchants to sign agreements stating they will not entice consumers to use a particular credit card for purchases, thus preventing consumers from receiving benefits for using a card with lower merchant costs, according to an Oct. 4 news release from Koster's office.
"Credit card companies hold a powerful place in the lives of many Missourians,” Koster said in the release. “Given the increasing role of credit card companies in our everyday lives, it is important that we ensure that credit card merchants abide by federal antitrust rules that maintain a fair and competitive marketplace.”
The DOJ and the states - Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio and Texas - reached a settlement with Visa and MasterCard, which has the companies remove language from their rules prohibiting merchants from encouraging customers to select a certain card for purchases. American Express has not settled, the release said.
"I appreciate Visa and MasterCard’s quick decisions to remove the anticompetitive language with retailers using their cards,” Koster said. “Their prompt decision immediately improves the competitive marketplace in the state of Missouri.
"We will continue to litigate with American Express in the hopes of encouraging similar movement.”
According to the news release, American Express restricts merchants from implying that they prefer, directly or indirectly, any other card service; from trying to discourage customers from using American Express; from criticizing American Express in front of customers; from trying to persuade customers to use a difference card; and from providing any benefits or adding restrictions to American Express cards that are not equally applied to other cards.
Under the agreement with Visa and MasterCard, merchants will now be able to offer card-based customer incentives; express preferences; promote the use of a particular means of payment; and communicate to consumers the actual costs incurred by the retailer when using a particular card, the release said.[[In-content Ad]]
