CHICAGO— Consumers are starting to learn their favorite credit cards may be rejected by some big box retailers, as the mass media provides coverage of what a recent court settlement could mean.
As the CU Daily reported earlier, the settlement in the two-decade-old case between major retailers and credit-card networks Visa and Mastercard would relax so-called “honor all cards” rules that have for decades required merchants that accept one type of card on a given network to accept all of them.
Under the proposed agreement, merchants would gain greater control over which specific Visa and Mastercard products they accept and could, in some cases, impose surcharges or refuse higher-cost cards entirely.
The deal, first reached in late 2025 and awaiting judicial approval, comes at the end of roughly two decades of litigation over swipe fees. If the settlement is approved, large merchants such as Walmart and Target could begin categorizing cards by fee level and decide which to accept or surcharge. That could mean a premium rewards card that costs a retailer more in processing fees might be rejected or trigger an additional charge at checkout, several analysts have noted.
Tiered Acceptance Model
Those same retail analysts say the changes could lead to a “tiered acceptance” model, potentially confusing shoppers and members carrying a credit union card and prompting some to carry multiple payment methods. For consumers, the outcome could range from modest surcharges to outright declines of certain credit cards at the point of sale, analysts said.
Walmart has previously criticized aspects of the proposed settlement, arguing in court filings that the changes do not go far enough to allow true negotiation with issuing banks on interchange fees. Target has not publicly commented on the broader dispute.
