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The credit card companies will make changes to lower interchange fees by an average of 10 basis points over several years under the terms of the deal, and loosen rules that require merchants to accept all Visa or Mastercard credit cards. The agreement would allow merchants to impose a surcharge on Mastercard and Visa products, and is the latest turn in a long-running saga that has seen the credit-card companies offer multiple settlements over the last decade.
Interchange fees total more than $100 billion annually and are a key driver behind the rewards offered to consumers on premium cards. Some retailers have pushed for more power to not accept such higher-end cards that carry a heftier interchange fee, even if they allow consumers to use more basic Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
