A federal judge in New York has granted preliminary approval to a revised $38 billion settlement in the long-running interchange-fee litigation against Visa and Mastercard, marking another major milestone in one of the largest antitrust-related civil cases in U.S. history. The case centers on merchant allegations that the card networks and related defendants imposed excessive “swipe fees” and maintained anticompetitive rules that inflated the cost of accepting credit cards.

Preliminary approval is not the end of the road. It means the court found the proposed deal sufficiently viable to move forward to notice, objections, and a later fairness determination. Given the size of the settlement and the stakes for retailers, banks, and payment processors, further challenges are widely expected. For class-action practitioners, that makes the next phase at least as important as the approval itself.

The settlement is significant not only because of its headline value, but because it reflects the enormous exposure that can accumulate in sprawling, multi-year antitrust litigation involving nationwide merchant classes and deeply embedded payment-network practices. Interchange-fee disputes have shaped the legal and commercial relationship between merchants and card issuers for years, and this latest ruling underscores how difficult these cases are to fully resolve even after substantial negotiations.

For in-house counsel and compliance teams, the preliminary approval is a reminder that payment practices remain a live antitrust and consumer-commercial risk area. Retailers and other merchants will be watching closely to see what monetary relief and business-practice implications ultimately survive final approval. Payment companies, issuers, and financial institutions, meanwhile, should pay attention to how the court addresses objections concerning class scope, adequacy, and the fairness of the proposed terms.

Litigators should also note the procedural significance. Massive settlements like this one often become roadmaps for future challenges over class certification, opt-out rights, release language, and settlement structure. Courts scrutinizing deals of this scale may influence how parties negotiate relief in other antitrust and network-rule cases.

Docket watchers may also want to keep an eye on related merchant-card network litigation, including Fareway Stores, Inc. et al v. Visa, Inc. et al in the Eastern District of New York. That matter offers additional context for how merchants continue to press claims against the major payment networks and can help practitioners track recurring theories, defense strategies, and procedural developments across related disputes.

For now, the preliminary approval is a substantial win for Visa and Mastercard in getting the revised deal over an important threshold. But with objections still likely and final approval still ahead, the litigation remains a consequential one for antitrust law, settlement practice, and the future economics of card acceptance.