WASHINGTON–The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case against American Express that is based on whether the company can continue to ban merchants from asking shoppers to use cards that charge stores lower fees.
The case was originally brought by attorneys general in more than 10 states.
The case, which is part of a long-running antitrust case against American Express, comes down to an AmEx policy that says merchants that choose to accept AmEx cards can’t steer consumers to use cards on other networks, such as Mastercard or Visa.
American Express has issued a statement that, “The earlier decision by the Second Circuit panel protects a consumer’s right to choose how they pay, prevents our card members from being discriminated against and promotes competition in the payments industry. With the Supreme Court’s decision to take up this case, we will continue to vigorously defend the Second Circuit’s decision in favor of American Express.”
In 2016, a federal appeals court reversed a lower-court ruling that had found American Express in violation of antitrust rules because it didn’t allow stores that accept AmEx cards to encourage shoppers to use less-expensive cards. In June of this year the Justice Department said it wouldn’t ask the Supreme Court to review its case against American Express
However, on the same day, attorneys general from 11 states filed a petition with the Supreme Court requesting it review their case against the company.