Card Issuers Petition for Review

Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the federal appeals court's decision to support the decision by a lower court that upholds certification of the class action suit brought by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Sears, Roebuck and Co. and other retailers. As noted in CardForum and reported in Spotlight, the retailers were seeking to abolish the card issuers' "honor-all rule." Under that rule, retailers that accept the card issuers' credit cards must also be willing to accept their signature-based debit cards. While the card issuers disagree with the retailers' charge that the interchange rate on debit card is too high, an even greater concern is the decision to certify all retailers as a class. As estimated by CardForum, upholding that decision could cost the defendants up to $100 billion in damages under the antitrust laws.