Walmart and Major Retailers Object, Seek Rejection of Card Settlement

Walmart led a group of major retailers in filing formal objections on December 15, 2025 asking a federal judge to refuse approval of a proposed antitrust settlement between Visa and Mastercard. The retailers say the deal was negotiated by a small group of local merchants on behalf of a class of roughly 20 million merchants, and that it would require large national merchants to release antitrust claims for eight years while offering only a 0.1 percentage point reduction in swipe fees for five years.

The filings contend the settlement preserves a rule that compels merchants to accept all Visa and Mastercard cards if they accept any, a provision retailers say undermines their ability to steer customers toward lower cost payment options. The objections also raise concerns about the size of plaintiffs lawyers fees under the proposed agreement and warn that approving the deal could jeopardize related government and private litigation that targets card network rules and fee structures.

For workers, the stakes are practical. Swipe fees are a recurring expense for retailers, and reductions in those fees can influence store-level budgets. Higher ongoing processing costs can lead to pressure on profit margins that often translates into restrained hiring, reduced hours, delayed raises, or cuts to store services. Retailers argue that locking in a modest fee cut for a limited period while surrendering broader claims could leave national chains with fewer tools to lower operating costs in the long term.

The objections frame the settlement as one that resolves plaintiffs claims broadly while doing little to alter the underlying network rules that drive interchange fees. They also spotlight the potential implications for future antitrust enforcement, suggesting that the settlement could undercut parallel suits and government actions aimed at reining in card network practices.

A district court judge will decide whether to approve the settlement, modify it, or reject it and allow litigation to proceed. A rejection would leave in place active legal challenges over interchange fees and network rules, while approval could lock in the terms contested by national retailers and shape payment processing economics for years to come.