--- title: "Merchants have collected $631.7 million from Visa and Mastercard in 21 years; November 16 sets the fee rules" description: "The damages half of the swipe fee case that began in October 2005 has now reached 689,340 merchants. On November 16, Judge Brian Cogan weighs the half that would set card fees for years, over 978 objections and a promised appeal." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Money" published: 2026-10-12T21:25:31.420Z modified: 2026-10-12T21:25:31.420Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/merchants-have-collected-631-7-million-from-visa-and-mastercard-in-21-years-november-16-sets-the-fee-rules language: en keywords: "Interchange, Visa, Mastercard, Antitrust, Payments, Litigation" --- # Merchants have collected $631.7 million from Visa and Mastercard in 21 years; November 16 sets the fee rules > The damages half of the swipe fee case that began in October 2005 has now reached 689,340 merchants. On November 16, Judge Brian Cogan weighs the half that would set card fees for years, over 978 objections and a promised appeal. ## Two ledgers on Judge Cogan's desk Brooklyn's federal courthouse is holding both halves of the swipe fee war, in litigation dating to October 2005 [1]. [In a Friday filing](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/visa-mastercard-payouts-top-631m-131400949.html), class administrator Epiq said the $5.5 billion damages settlement, covering merchants that took [Visa](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/visa) or [Mastercard](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/mastercard) cards from 2004 to 2019, has paid $631.7 million to 689,340 merchants, with $5.02 billion still in the fund [1]. The other half would rewrite the rules merchants pay under, and 978 businesses and trade groups are asking Judge Brian Cogan to throw it out [2]. ## The arithmetic behind the anger Merchants paid [$198.25 billion in credit and debit swipe fees in 2025](https://csnews.com/credit-debit-card-swipe-fees-neared-200b-2025), roughly $543 million a day [2][3]. The whole damages fund is worth about ten days of that bill, and what has actually reached merchants is a little over one day [1][2]. *Chart: **The whole $5.5B damages fund is ten days of US swipe fees** Bar chart comparing 2025 US swipe fees of $198.25 billion with the $5.5 billion damages fund and the $631.7 million paid to merchants so far.* *Swipe fees are the Merchants Payments Coalition and Nilson Report total for US credit and debit card acceptance in 2025; the fund is the 2018 Visa-Mastercard damages settlement; the payout is Epiq's disbursement through September 30, 2026. Sources: Yahoo Finance (Payments Dive); Tech CEO Daily; Convenience Store News. [1][2][3]* ## What ten basis points buy The deal would cut credit interchange, the fee card-issuing banks collect on each transaction, by 10 basis points, a tenth of a percentage point, for five years, cap standard consumer cards at 1.25 percent for eight years, and let merchants refuse some premium cards [2][4]. The cut reaches only the interchange that goes to issuing banks, never the networks' own fees [5]. Against the $118.8 billion merchants paid Visa and [Mastercard](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001141391) in credit fees last year at an average 2.36 percent rate, a tenth of a point is worth roughly $5 billion a year, about nine days of the total fee bill [3][4]. The objectors' letter says the cut would "merely return the average Visa/Mastercard rate to its 2023 level", while plaintiffs' experts Joseph Stiglitz and Keith Leffler put the whole package at $38 billion of savings by 2031 [4][5]. ## What 978 merchants reject More than 90 percent of credit card spending runs on rewards cards, so the right to refuse premium cards means refusing nearly everyone [5]. Objectors say the deal would still let the networks raise their own fees "in response to market conditions" [6]. The class is mandatory, about 12 million merchants with no right to opt out, and the release covers claims that even "could have" been raised [4][5][6]. [Walmart's 299-page filing](https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/walmart-slams-card-fee-pact-100300867.html) calls forcing merchants into that class a due process violation, and the National Association of Convenience Stores has promised a Second Circuit appeal if the deal is approved [2][6]. ## What the networks buy Mastercard says the deal "balances the interests of all parties" and Visa calls it meaningful relief for merchants of all sizes [4][6]. The Electronic Payments Coalition, whose members include Chase, Bank of America, Citibank and Capital One, backs it [4]. Interchange is issuer revenue, so the rate cut does not directly touch what the networks earn. What they buy is the release [5][6]. Cogan already [found the deal "fair, reasonable, and adequate"](https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2026-06-09/us-judge-oks-visa-mastercard-38-billion-swipe-fee-settlement), ruling the question is not the best possible recovery but the best one "in light of what can be gained and lost through trial" [4]. ## The dates that decide it Class counsel [answers the objections on October 14](https://www.techceodaily.com/fintech/visa-mastercard-swipe-fee-settlement-merchant-objections) [2]. Mastercard reports on October 29 against [consensus of about $9.64 billion](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/baird-sees-over-20-upside-160011176.html), having grown revenue at a double-digit rate in each of the last 12 quarters [7][8]. Cogan hears final approval arguments on November 16 [2]. If he approves and the appeal follows, merchants keep about one day of fees in hand while the rules that set the rest of the bill wait on the Second Circuit into 2027 [2]. *Chart: **Mastercard has grown revenue double digits for 12 straight quarters** Line chart of Mastercard quarterly revenue from Q3 2023 to Q2 2026, climbing from $6.5 billion to $9.3 billion, with a Q3 2026 consensus point of $9.64 billion ahead of the October 29 report.* *Mastercard quarterly net revenue in US$ billions, from its SEC filings; the Q3 2026 point is the analyst consensus for the October 29 report, drawn as an estimate. Sources: Yahoo Finance (TIKR); Mastercard, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 12 October 2026. [7][8]* ## Takeaway The $5.5 billion damages half of the Visa and Mastercard swipe fee case has paid 689,340 merchants $631.7 million; on November 16 Judge Brian Cogan weighs the interchange-rule half that Walmart and 978 objectors want thrown out. ## Sources 1. [Yahoo Finance (Payments Dive), Visa-Mastercard payouts top $631M, 12 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/visa-mastercard-payouts-top-631m-131400949.html) 2. [Tech CEO Daily, Swipe fee settlement: 978 objectors before Nov. 16 hearing, 8 October 2026](https://www.techceodaily.com/fintech/visa-mastercard-swipe-fee-settlement-merchant-objections) 3. [Convenience Store News, Credit & Debit Card Swipe Fees Neared $200B in 2025, 19 March 2026](https://csnews.com/credit-debit-card-swipe-fees-neared-200b-2025) 4. [Reuters via U.S. News & World Report, Visa, Mastercard $38 Billion Swipe Fee Settlement Wins US Judge's Approval, 9 June 2026](https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2026-06-09/us-judge-oks-visa-mastercard-38-billion-swipe-fee-settlement) 5. [Convenience Store News, Merchants Call Out Loopholes in Credit Card Swipe Fee Settlement, 14 September 2026](https://csnews.com/merchants-call-out-loopholes-credit-card-swipe-fee-settlement) 6. [Yahoo Finance (Payments Dive), Walmart slams card fee pact, again, 15 September 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/walmart-slams-card-fee-pact-100300867.html) 7. [Yahoo Finance (TIKR), Baird Sees Over 20% Upside in Mastercard Before Its October 29 Report, 10 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/baird-sees-over-20-upside-160011176.html) 8. [Mastercard, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 12 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001141391) --- Merchants have collected $631.7 million from Visa and Mastercard in 21 years; November 16 sets the fee rules — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/merchants-have-collected-631-7-million-from-visa-and-mastercard-in-21-years-november-16-sets-the-fee-rules