Payments News Update – June 12, 2026
Legal and Regulatory Developments
SPOTLIGHT: Visa, Mastercard $38 billion swipe fee settlement wins US judge’s approval
Reuters – June 9, 2026
A U.S. judge on Tuesday granted preliminary approval to Visa’s and Mastercard’s revised $38 billion settlement with merchants who accused the card networks of charging too much to process payments on their credit cards.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn, New York, said the settlement was “fair, reasonable, and adequate,” and that he was likely to eventually grant final approval.
Cogan ruled nearly two years after a different judge rejected a proposed $30 billion settlement as too small. . . .
4 Reasons the Visa-Mastercard Pact Survived
Payments Dive – June 10, 2026
A revised settlement with merchants improved sufficiently to win initial court approval Tuesday as Visa and Mastercard shed their “honor all cards” rule.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan noted the rule change, along with other changes to merchants’ ability to surcharge and discount for payment cards. The revised settlement “provides more extensive relief” than a prior 2024 settlement, Cogan said, “notwithstanding the objections to its adequacy.”
The revised pact “has been improved just enough” to win preliminary approval and will likely gain a final stamp of approval, said Lloyd Constantine, an attorney with Constantine Cannon. The settlement is also likely to win final approval, he predicted Tuesday night in an email. . . .
The Argument Over Interchange Is Far From Settled, Observers Say
Digital Transactions News – June 10, 2026
Payments executives who may be hoping that a court ruling Tuesday will put an end to years of bitter wrangling over card-acceptance costs are likely to be disappointed, experts tell Digital Transactions News.
“This does not end the argument. It just stifles it,” says Cliff Gray, principal at Gray Consulting Ventures, a Chicago-based payments advisory. Adds Aaron McPherson, principal at AFM Consulting LLC: “While certainly significant, the settlement by no means ends the argument.”
These opinions come as a federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday ruled that a settlement reached between banks and merchants in a hotly contested, 21-year-old class-action case is “fair, reasonable, and adequate.” . . .
NCUA Finalizes Preemption Rule, Clearing Path for FCUs to Continue Collecting Interchange Fees
CU Today – June 8, 2026
NCUA has finalized an interim rule clarifying that federal credit unions have the authority under the Federal Credit Union Act to impose non-interest charges and fees—including interchange fees—and that those activities are not subject to conflicting state laws.
The rule takes effect June 30.
The action follows months of industry attention on the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) and comes after the NCUA signaled it was preparing a preemption rule similar to one adopted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. . . .
Visa-Mastercard Fund Will Report Claims Status
Payments Dive – June 8, 2026
The administrator of a $5.5 billion class action settlement with Visa and Mastercard will produce a new quarterly report giving claims holders more visibility into the process.
Class counsel for merchants that sued the card networks over interchange fees said Thursday they expect the first report by Epiq, the claims administrator, to be ready for the court by July 10. The report will detail data such as merchants’ claims status and fee disputes.
“There is significant data-work that must be done to set in motion the ability to pull the various agreed reporting categories,” class attorney Alexandra Bernay from the law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd wrote in the Thursday letter to Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York. The class will advise him if Epiq needs additional preparation time, Bernay said. . . .
Industry Developments
SPOTLIGHT: JPMorgan, Citi and Big Banks Plan New Tokenized Deposit System to Answer Crypto
The Wall Street Journal – June 4, 2026 (subscription may be required)
The largest U.S. banks plan to launch a tokenized deposit network next year, an attempt to stave off threats from crypto companies that are seeking to wade deeper into their territory under President Trump.
The new network will connect traditional payment rails with the infrastructure that digital assets run on. It will be operated by a real-time payment network company called The Clearing House, which is co-owned by JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and other large commercial banks.
The move marks one of the most significant efforts yet to open up the crypto world to the banking industry. It would allow tokenized deposits to move instantly across blockchain technology with 24/7 settlements. . . .
Google Wallet Moves Directly Into Retail Checkout Pages
PYMNTS – June 4, 2026
Google expanded the capabilities of Google Pay to include direct checkout, a new experience that brings payment options from a customer’s Google Wallet to a retailer’s checkout page.
The company launched the experience Thursday (June 4) for select merchants that use Airwallex. It will soon expand it to merchants that use Adyen, and then to other partners worldwide, Google said in a Thursday blog post.
“Google Pay direct checkout gives shoppers convenience and peace of mind while providing brands with a turnkey checkout solution,” P.J. Linarducci, vice president, product management, consumer payments at Google, said in the post. . . .