The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) applauded the U.S. Department of Justice's move to reach a settlement with Visa and
MasterCard and open a case against American Express regarding
networks' anti-competitive practices.
“Merchants, small and large, welcome today's news,” said Senior Vice President of Government Affairs John Emling. “With today's announcement, the U.S. Department of Justice joins countless legislative and regulatory bodies in the US 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.”
RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales.
