Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. are close to settling a Justice Department antitrust probe over credit-card acceptance rules, potentially giving merchants more flexibility to steer customers to cheaper forms of plastic, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
The settlement, which could be announced early this week, won’t likely result in a big financial hit to Visa or MasterCard. But it would be the latest setback for the credit-card industry, which has been deluged with new rules and restrictions as a result of the financial crisis.
Full Story: MasterCard and Visa Are Near – WSJ.com