Visa, Mastercard Reach $30B Settlement Over Merchant Fees to Aid Small Businesses

• Visa and Mastercard reach settlement over merchant swipe fees, resolving antitrust claims that fees were too high • Settlement expected to save businesses $30 billion in fees • Fees are typically 2-4% of transaction amount that businesses pay to card companies • Small businesses expected to benefit more as fees harder for them to absorb • Settlement could affect rewards credit cards, which tend to have higher swipe fees - remains to be seen if rewards structure changes