Originally Posted by
phltraveler
What the smarter retailers realize is that basically this doesn't change the status quo, but it ends the lawsuit. Courts are slow as hell. Visa gets to end this lawsuit, get a 5 year reprieve on getting sued over swipe fees, and if they raise them again in five years - the retailers can sue again. Oh no! Except this lawsuit has been going on for 18+ years. If the settlement ends this lawsuit and Visa starts hiking base interchange back up in three years/average overall fees by 7 basis points in five years, Visa can spend the next 15+ years dragging out the next lawsuit.
Yup, this is the bottom line. Visa has more money to spend on lawyers than the merchants. They basically dragged out the lawsuit until the merchants couldn't justify the cost anymore, and the merchants were forced to settle on unfavorable terms. Unfortunately, that's how many lawsuits are resolved in our legal system.
I wonder if merchants will choose to opt out of the settlement this time, and what that will look like.