Payments News Update – December 12, 2025
Legal and Regulatory Developments
SPOTLIGHT:
Law360 – December 9, 2025 (subscription required)
American Express Co. has reached a settlement with consumers who claim the credit card company’s so-called antisteering rules cause non-Amex cardholders to pay higher charges, signaling a potential end to a class action suit after a New York federal jury ordered Amex to pay $12 million to one class of consumers.
The parties filed a letter with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York Monday notifying it of the deal but did not include any details of the settlement or its terms.
“The parties have executed a term sheet for a settlement to resolve the action and are completing a final stipulation of settlement, which we expect to be signed within the next two weeks,” the letter stated. . . .
ABA Banking Journal – December 9, 2025
The American Bankers Association and eight financial sector associations are urging the Federal Reserve to withdraw a two-year-old proposal to lower the cap on debit card interchange fees, pointing to conflicting court rulings on the regulation it seeks to amend and the age of the data used to calculate the cap.
The Fed in 2023 proposed revising Regulation II to lower the cap from its current rate of 21 cents and .05% of the transaction, plus a one-cent fraud adjustment, to 14.4 cents and .04% per transaction and a 1.3 cents fraud-prevention adjustment, which originally was to take effect on June 30 of this year.
It also proposed to update the cap every other year going forward by linking it to data from the board’s biennial survey of large debit card issuers. . . .
Payments Dive – December 9, 2025
When buy now, pay later giant Klarna said two weeks ago that it’s testing a stablecoin, the firm joined a growing roster of payments processors, card networks, banks and other financial technology companies embracing such digital assets.
More major payments players are leading their customers to stablecoins as the form of digital currency becomes increasingly popular. That’s partly due to the Genius Act, which called for a regulatory framework for stablecoin use, after President Donald Trump signed the bill into law earlier this year.
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency tied to the value of a fiat currency, such as the dollar or the euro, which theoretically makes their value more stable when compared to volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. . . .
Kiosk Marketplace – December 8, 2025
The proposed $200 billion settlement aimed at resolving the long-running antitrust lawsuit over Visa and Mastercard credit card swipe fees has drawn sharp criticism from industry groups, including the National Association of Convenience Stores, the National Retail Federation, and the National Restaurant Association.
All agree the deal provides negligible relief and fails to address soaring operational costs for restaurant operators.
No one should be fooled by the credit card industry’s smoke and mirrors, according to NACS Senior Vice President of Government Relations Lyle Beckwith, who said approving it would contradict the ruling that Brooklyn Judge Margo Brodie made last year when a similar solution was proposed and rejected. . . .
Industry Developments
SPOTLIGHT:
Payments Dive – December 11, 2025
Diners may increasingly spot dual pricing options on their tabs as some restaurants begin offering discounts for cash payments in a bid to reduce the credit card fees they pay to issuers and networks.
Some have likely begun surcharging or offering discounts for cash payment, said Vanessa Sink, a National Restaurant Association spokesperson, noting the swift introduction of temporary surcharges for eggs early this year as prices surged. The association doesn’t query restaurants about payment surcharging or discounts as part of its monthly survey, she said, citing inflationary pressures.
“When everything starts to go up, you have to do something and all of them are making different decisions about what they think their diners will accept,” Sink said, noting a wide diversity of 70 different segments within the restaurant industry. . . .
Digital Transactions News – December 9, 2025
Fees paid by merchants to accept credit card and debit cards will dampen consumer spending power this holiday shopping season as sellers look for ways to offset the cost, says the Merchants Payment Coalition.
Swipe fees are projected to cost merchants at least $19.9 billion this holiday shopping season, up from $19 billion a year ago, payments consultancy CMSPI projects. Overall, debit and credit cards transactions are projected to account for 89% of holiday spending, CMSPI adds.
For most merchants, swipe fees are their second-highest operating expense after labor costs and have risen 70% since the pandemic, the MPC says. In 2024, merchants paid a record $187.2 billion in swipe fees, adds the MPC. The group defines card swipe fees as interchange and network fees, both of which it says have been rising in recent years. . . .
Payments Dive – December 9, 2025
Since card giant Visa instituted a new program for assessing credit card interchange fees in October, some merchants have been blind-sided by higher expenses.
While the card network, bank issuers and processors have been preparing for Visa’s new Commercial Enhanced Data Program all year, consultants say many merchants were unprepared for the change. As a result, they were forced to pay higher fees because they were pushed into a new interchange level that sliced prior discounts.
Verisave CEO Jeremy Layton’s firm reviews credit card processing fees as part of its consulting services for small, mid-sized and large retailers, restaurants and other merchants. He said the majority of his clients are “struggling” with the change, incurring higher Visa fees because they’re not providing the data that the card network demanded under the new program. Merchants have had to recalibrate their systems to provide the data. . . .
The Wall Street Journal – December 5, 2025 (subscription may be required)
Debit cards are getting the credit-card treatment. This year Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts launched debit cards that let customers earn points and miles. Venmo’s debit card now offers 5% cash back at certain merchants, and Klarna added a premium debit tier that comes with a rose-gold card and access to airport lounges for about $540 a year.
Many of the new debit cards come with fees, and their perks still pale in comparison to credit cards’, but the rewards are the most generous seen on debit cards in years.
Debit cards haven’t offered rewards because the economics didn’t work for banks, but other businesses see things differently. . . .
PYMNTS – December 4, 2025
Digital bank and payments firm Klarna is expanding its new membership plan to the U.S.
The Sweden-based company introduced its Premium and Max plans in Europe and the U.K. in October and announced in a Thursday (Dec. 4) news release that it is now rolling out those programs for American customers.
“The U.S. debut offers an alternative to the traditional credit card model,” Klarna said in the release. “While credit cards have long provided rewards and benefits, they’ve also contributed to roughly $1,000 in household fees in 2024, with total U.S. credit card debt of $1.2 trillion.” . . .