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U.S. Supreme Court liberals skeptical of American Express merchant fees

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday sharply questioned American Express Co <AXP.N> over its policy of forbidding merchants from encouraging customers to use rival credit cards with lower fees, a practice that some states and the Trump administration have concluded violates federal antitrust law.

The high court heard about an hour of arguments in an appeal by the states, led by Ohio, of a 2016 ruling by a lower court in New York that cleared American Express of unlawfully stifling competition through its so-called anti-steering provisions in contracts with merchants.

While liberal Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer signaled hostility toward the company's policy, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch indicated support for American Express. It was less clear how the other conservative justices would vote. The court has a 5-4 conservative majority.

Merchants like a local coffee shop might be able to pass lower transaction fees on to customers in the form of cheaper prices, except that the anti-steering measures prevent them from doing so, Kagan said.

"That sounds like a market that is not working the way it's supposed to," Kagan told Evan Chesler, the attorney for American Express.


Source :- yahoonews
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