Two Canadian law firms have proposed a class action suit which accuses Visa, MasterCard and the major banks of fixing charges on credit cards. News release here. The specifics of the filing mirror closely the complaints of merchants and their associations, such as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. The principal accusation is that the parties require merchants as an absolute condition to accept all levels of cards, including so-called premium cards with high fees. And, that the card companies forbid merchants from charging a higher price for goods sold on premium cards as a way of recovering the additional fee expense. The news releaase linked above also solicits those who might wish to be part of the class action.
