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Visa, MasterCard in $7.25B swipe-fee settlement

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and banks that issue their credit cards have agreed to a $7.25 billion settlement with U.S. retailers in what could be the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history, according to Reuters. The settlement would resolve a lawsuit over the fixing of credit and debit card fees filed by retailers in 2005, Reuters and other media outlets reported after the settlement papers were filed Friday in a federal court in Brooklyn. A judge must approve the settlement. Reuters said the settlement proposal involves a payment to a class of stores of $6 billion from Visa , MasterCard and more than a dozen of the country's largest banks who issue the companies' cards. The card companies have also agreed to reduce swipe fees by the equivalent of 10 basis points for eight months for a total consideration to stores valued at about $1.2 billion, Reuters said, citing lawyers for the plaintiffs. An additional $525 million will be paid to stores suing individually, according to Reuters.