Mastercard, Visa, banks to pay $6.2 billion in damages

Visa, Mastercard and many US banks have agreed to pay $6.2 billion to settle a long-running lawsuit brought by merchants over the fees they pay when they accept card payments. Visa and Mastercard had previously reached a $7.25-billion settlement with the merchants in the case, but that deal was thrown out by a federal appeals court in 2016.

The lawsuit, dating back more than a decade, accuses credit card companies of violating federal antitrust laws by forcing merchants to pay swipe fees and prohibiting them from directing consumers toward other methods of payment.