Visa and MasterCard settle Discover lawsuit

Visa and MasterCard settle Discover lawsuit

Discover Financial Services has settled a long running anti-trust lawsuit that accused rivals MasterCard and Visa of blocking access to the bank-issued card market in the US.

The suit was scheduled to go to trial today in Manhattan with jury selection.

But citing a court clerk, Bloomberg says the credit card companies have now reached a settlement. Details of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

MasterCard has released a statement saying it has reached "an agreement in principle" to settle the outstanding litigation with Discover. MasterCard says it is working with Discover on settlement documentation and details will follow.

The 2004 suit alleged anti-competitive business practices by MasterCard and Visa that effectively locked Discover out of the bank-issued card business in the US.

Discover and American Express both filed suit after the US Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that found Visa and MasterCard violated antitrust laws by banning their member banks from issuing cards from rival firms.

American Express settled with Visa for up to $2.25 billion last November. This was followed by a $1.8 billion deal with MasterCard this June.

Discover Settles Visa, MasterCard Antitrust Lawsuit - Bloomberg

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