A case considering the legality of American Express (Amex) rules that prevent retailers from offering consumers benefits for using credit cards with lower fees, is being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Retailers have long said Amex’s rules are an antitrust violation that denies consumers truthful information about their credit cards and prevents customers from taking advantage of benefits that retailers might offer in the absence of those rules.
“The growing chorus of skepticism from the high court is an important signal that the lower courts should exercise vigilant oversight of the practices that credit card companies adopted to increase their profits at the expense of healthy competition,” Deborah White, president of the Retail Litigation Center, said. The Retail Litigation Center is a public policy organization that identifies and engages in legal proceedings that affect the retail industry.
The fact that the U.S. Supreme Court is willing to hear Ohio, et al. v. American Express is in keeping with the court’s recent decisions related to anti-competitive activity by the credit cards.
“While intense competition is a hallmark of the retail industry, it is largely absent from the credit card market where fees continue to skyrocket. These fees—largely hidden from the consumer—are among the highest costs of doing business for America’s retailers,” White said. “Retailers should have the right to educate consumers about credit card fees and their impact on prices and other benefits. Transparency will empower consumers to make choices that provide them with the greatest value when using a credit card.”
White said the RLC looks forward to providing the Supreme Court with the retail industry’s perspective on this issue when the court considers the merits of this case later in the term.