Payments News Update – May 6, 2021

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Retail Organizations Sue Fed Over Debit Law Enforcement Retail Dive – April 30, 2021 Two retail associations sued the Federal Reserve Board of Governors April 29 over what they claim is a failure by the federal agency to properly enforce a federal law that caps the fees that can be charged on debit transactions. The North Dakota Retail Association and the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers...

Payments News Update – April 29, 2021

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Visa, Mastercard Face Biggest Challenges in a Decade Banking Dive – April 22, 2021 Regulatory, legislative and court confrontations over the card networks' fees are ratcheting up pressure again for reform of the behemoths' practices. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin was riled up when he leaned into his microphone to speak last month at an antitrust subcommittee hearing. The source of his consternation? The dominance...

P-Stim Fraud: A New DOJ Enforcement Priority?

The Department of Justice regularly publicizes its fraud prevention and False Claims Act enforcement priorities. These announced priorities typically focus on broad issues that affect the lives of millions of Americans – COVID-19 fraud, the opioid crisis, and the rapid expansion of telehealth.  In addition, we keep an eye on DOJ enforcement actions, and these can reveal emerging trends, often in narrow areas.  One such area has become apparent over...

Payments News Update – April 22, 2021

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: At Congressional Hearing, Panelists Question Why Crypto and Fintech Firms Need Bank Licenses The Block – April 15, 2021 Congress collected feedback from legal minds on how fintech firms may use or abuse banking licenses. The hearing, entitled “Banking Innovation or Regulatory Evasion? Exploring Trends in Financial Institution Charters,” included former Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks Many panelists condemned the OCC for “overreaching” in...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following. 4th Circuit revives antitrust claims against Actelion over Tracleer pricing.  The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday revived a proposed class action against Janssen’s Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd accusing the company of extending its patent monopoly on its pulmonary artery hypertension drug Tracleer past the patent’s expiration date. A three-judge...

Payments News Update – April 16, 2021

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Insider's Report On Payments: Interchange in the Crosshairs The Green Sheet – April 12, 2021 The major card brands are on the hot seat. Under pressure from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.,Visa and Mastercard postponed for a year interchange rate changes that were slated for April 2021. This followed news that the financial software giant Intuit is suing the two brands in federal court, alleging price...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Facebook purchase of Kustomer may face EU antitrust scrutiny.  Facebook’s acquisition of customer service startup Kustomer may be subjected to European Union antitrust scrutiny after Austria asked EU enforcers to take over the task, the European Commission said on Tuesday. The move comes as the EU competition regulator girds up to vet more tech, pharma and biotech startup deals, sending a warning about so-called killer acquisitions where firms buy nascent rivals...

Bristol-Myers Squibb Settlement Highlights a Common-Sense Law: The Medicaid Drug Rebate Program

Drug prices are out of control.  They now account for roughly 10% of our healthcare spending and America’s per capita outlay has nearly doubled over the past two decades.  For the least fortunate among us, many of these medications have become out of reach altogether. While new proposals are regularly made, one approach that often gets overlooked is simply enforcing the laws already on the books. That is just what...

Payments News Update – April 1, 2021

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Retail Groups Seek to Protect Merchants in Ongoing Swipe Fee Litigation Chain Store Age – March 31, 2021 The nation’s two largest retail trade are objecting to the scope of proposed class-action swipe fee litigation. The Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Retail Federation are asking to intervene in longstanding multidistrict class action litigation brought by merchants against Visa and Mastercard over fees charged...

The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following. U.S. Justice Department probing Visa over debit practices.  The Justice Department is looking at Visa Inc’s debit practices, the company said on Friday, after reports the United States was investigating whether the credit card company uses anticompetitive practices in the debit-card market. “The U.S. Department of Justice has informed Visa of...