--- title: "Mastercard and Visa would let 12 million US merchants refuse premium cards; a judge hears it November 16" description: "A proposed settlement lets 12 million US merchants refuse premium Visa and Mastercard cards for the first time. Amex's chief says good luck, and Mastercard's 14% quarter shows why the networks could afford the giveaway." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Economy" published: 2026-10-29T18:04:24.198Z modified: 2026-10-29T18:04:24.198Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/mastercard-and-visa-would-let-12-million-us-merchants-refuse-premium-cards-a-judge-hears-it-november-16 language: en keywords: "Mastercard, Visa, Interchange, Antitrust, Credit Cards, Payments" --- # Mastercard and Visa would let 12 million US merchants refuse premium cards; a judge hears it November 16 > A proposed settlement lets 12 million US merchants refuse premium Visa and Mastercard cards for the first time. Amex's chief says good luck, and Mastercard's 14% quarter shows why the networks could afford the giveaway. ## Merchants won the right to refuse premium cards [A merchant war that began in 2005](https://theinference.org/article/merchants-have-collected-631-7-million-from-visa-and-mastercard-in-21-years-november-16-sets-the-fee-rules) is ending in a Brooklyn courtroom, and the headline prize for a class of more than 12 million US merchants is the right to refuse a premium [Visa](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/visa) or [Mastercard](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/mastercard) card while still accepting the cheaper ones [2]. [American Express](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/american-express) chief Stephen Squeri, whose premium cards have never carried such a rule, [was asked about the concession on Friday](https://finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/ditching-honor-cards-rule-matter-145400981.html). His answer: "Good luck." He expects "consumer outrage" if stores start turning cards away [1]. Judge Brian Cogan hears the final approval request on November 16, 2026 [2]. ## The rule change costs nothing if nobody uses it The money in the deal sits elsewhere: credit interchange falls 10 basis points for five years, standard consumer cards get a 1.25% rate for eight, and [merchants paid an average swipe fee of 2.35% in 2024](https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/visa-mastercard-urge-court-approve-174000086.html) [2]. The honor-all-cards concession is the piece merchants fought for, and the doubters sit on their own side. Dan Stiel, a former card executive who now advises merchants, calls premium-card customers "exponentially more profitable" than debit users and the change an "empty benefit" [1]. [Walmart](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/walmart) and the big retail trade groups still object; the networks' lawyers call them "a vocal minority" of the class [2]. ## The quarter that pays for the peace Mastercard's third-quarter print showed why it could hand the rule over. [Net revenue rose 14% to $9.8 billion](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/mastercard-third-quarter-2026-earnings-release-ce785cd3d089f120), adjusted earnings of $5.31 a share beat the $5.17 consensus, and the adjusted operating margin reached 60.5% [3][4]. The card network grew 11% while rebates and incentives to issuing banks jumped 18%, and value-added services grew 19% [3]. *Chart: **Services grew nearly twice as fast as the card network** Q3 2026 growth rates by Mastercard business driver, value-added services highest at 19%* *Mastercard Q3 2026 growth, percent year over year, revenue as reported and volumes on a local currency basis. Source: Mastercard Q3 2026 earnings release. [3]* The war is getting cheaper to carry: a $74 million charge for merchants who opted out of the class, with accrued litigation down to $262 million from $800 million at December 31, 2025 [3]. Shares opened nearly 4.6% higher on a print the morning's coverage sold as an AI and stablecoin push [5][6]. *Chart: **Twelve straight quarters of double-digit revenue growth** Mastercard quarterly net revenue from Q4 2023 to Q3 2026, rising from $6.5 billion to $9.8 billion* *Mastercard net revenue by calendar quarter, US$ billions, year-over-year growth in double digits in every quarter shown. Sources: Mastercard quarterly SEC filings; Q3 2026 earnings release. [8][3]* ## Visa printed the same growth, with a bigger bill Visa, the co-defendant, [printed 13% revenue growth on October 27](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/visa-q4-2026-earnings-release-ce785cddde80fe20) and booked a fresh $469 million provision for the same interchange case [7]. [The fee gap between the two networks](https://theinference.org/article/visa-charges-token-fees-mastercard-does-not-ubs-sizes-the-gap-before-their-oct-27-and-oct-29-earnings) was the subject of The Inference's preview this week. ## November 16 decides the overhang Approval would close a case both networks have already paid down: Visa carries $1.7 billion of provisions for it this fiscal year [7], and Mastercard's accrual stands at a third of its January level [3]. Rejection would reopen a trial the networks argue they would win [2]. The tell after the ruling is commercial, not legal: the first large retailer that publicly declines a premium card. Twenty years of litigation bought merchants a door, and their own advisers are telling them not to walk through it. ## Takeaway Judge Cogan hears the Visa and Mastercard fee settlement on November 16, and the honor-all-cards giveaway costs the networks little next to Mastercard's 14% revenue quarter and 60.5% margin. ## Sources 1. [Payments Dive via Yahoo Finance, "Will ditching the 'honor all cards' rule matter?", 29 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/ditching-honor-cards-rule-matter-145400981.html) 2. [Payments Dive via Yahoo Finance, "Visa, Mastercard urge court to approve fee settlement", 16 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/visa-mastercard-urge-court-approve-174000086.html) 3. [Mastercard Incorporated, Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Release, Purchase, NY, 29 October 2026 (via MarketScreener)](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/mastercard-third-quarter-2026-earnings-release-ce785cd3d089f120) 4. [Investing.com via Yahoo Finance, "Mastercard beats estimates as revenue climbs 14%", 29 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/mastercard-beats-estimates-revenue-climbs-125201707.html) 5. [Proactive via Yahoo Finance, "Mastercard revenue rises 14% as payment volumes and services drive growth", 29 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/mastercard-revenue-rises-14-payment-133400901.html) 6. [Barron's via Yahoo Finance, "Mastercard Pushes to Be an AI and Stablecoin Powerhouse. The Stock Jumps on Earnings Beat.", 29 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/m/6395431b-f0a3-3662-81d9-9e955bfbaa52/mastercard-pushes-to-be-an-ai.html) 7. [Visa Inc., Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2026 Results, San Francisco, 27 October 2026 (via MarketScreener)](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/visa-q4-2026-earnings-release-ce785cddde80fe20) 8. [Mastercard, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 29 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001141391) --- Mastercard and Visa would let 12 million US merchants refuse premium cards; a judge hears it November 16 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/mastercard-and-visa-would-let-12-million-us-merchants-refuse-premium-cards-a-judge-hears-it-november-16