7-Eleven, Amazon Latest to Sue Over Swipe Fees

NEW YORK -- The proposed $7.25-billion settlement over credit card swipe fees may not be the end of the battle between the retail industry and credit card companies.

7-Eleven Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have become the latest to join approximately 30 others in a lawsuit filed in federal court in New York against Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and several major financial institutions. 7-Eleven and Amazon are among the more than 7,000 that opted out of the $7.25-billion settlement, according to Bloomberg.

"Once Visa and MasterCard acquired substantial market power over merchants, they maintained it by forcing merchants to pay even higher interchange fees to continue to fund these price-fixing schemes," the retailers said in their complaint filed Wednesday.

This latest legal action follows a similar lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan in mid-May by Macy's Inc., Target Corp., JC Penney Co. Inc., Kohl's Corp. and TJX Cos. -- among others -- in advance of the May 28 deadline for merchants to either accept the proposed settlement or opt out and pursue separate legal action, as CSNews Online previously reported.

Visa is also taking action of its own. Two weeks ago, the company filed suit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in order to halt future litigation over credit card swipe fees. In its complaint filed in a Brooklyn, N.Y., federal court, Visa stated that it seeks to prevent "the continuation of endless, wasteful litigation between the parties," and that "put simply, Visa seeks finality in its dispute with Wal-Mart."