PURCHASE, N.Y. – MasterCard said last week it will receive a discount on an antitrust settlement by making a $335 million prepayment on the $400 million remaining on the 2003 deal.
The payment represents the remaining obligation on the $1 billion settlement to be paid out to five million merchant customers of the card giant. The settlement was of a suit by merchants claiming MasterCard and Visa violated antitrust law by barring issuers of the two cards from issuing competing cards.
The settlement obligated MasterCard to pay merchants $125 million that year and $100 million annually each December from 2004 through 2012, and to lower the interchange rates applied to its signature-based debit cards.
MasterCard is one of two common stocks--Visa Inc. is the other--all credit unions are authorized to own.
