Visa, Mastercard agree to settle antitrust suit over swipe fees [Video]

NEW YORK — Visa and MasterCard announced a settlement with U.S. merchants related to swipe fees that could potentially save American shoppers tens of billions of dollars.

Swipe fees are paid to Visa, Mastercard and other credit card companies in exchange for enabling transactions. Merchants ultimately pass on those fees to consumers who use credit or debit cards. The fees are calculated as a fixed fee plus a percentage of the sales total, typically about 1% to 3%.

Increasingly in small businesses have begun posting signs near the register warning customers that they will pay more for the same item if they do not use cash.

According to the settlement announced Tuesday, Visa and Mastercard will cap the credit interchange fees into 2030, and the companies must negotiate the fees with merchant buying groups.

The law firm which announced the settlement put …