Overview
- U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan granted preliminary approval to the revised $38 billion settlement on Tuesday, clearing the way for notice to more than 12 million merchants and a period for objections.
- The agreement cuts interchange rates by 0.1 percentage point over five years and caps standard consumer card rates at 1.25% for eight years while allowing targeted surcharges and category‑based acceptance of cards.
- The change to the long‑standing “Honor All Cards” regime would let merchants decline entire card categories such as premium or commercial cards rather than being forced to accept every card bearing a network logo.
- Major merchant groups and retailers including the National Retail Federation and Walmart object that the deal still leaves merchants paying high fees and called the settlement inadequate, while networks, big issuers and experts hired by plaintiffs argue it yields large quantified benefits.
- The court now begins class notice and objection procedures before a fairness hearing later in 2026, and final approval could be delayed by objections or appeals even as Visa and Mastercard saw modest stock gains after the ruling.