New Mexico reaches $3.4M settlement with credit card firms

The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office has reached a $3.4 million settlement with two credit card companies over excessive fees charged during credit and debit card transactions.

Attorney General Hector Balderas announced the settlement with Visa and MasterCard on Thursday. He says the agreement provides compensation and helps to enforce the state’s consumer protection laws.

Balderas says his office also will host a series of financial literacy workshops to better educate consumers.

The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed in 2014 over the fees that are imposed on merchants each time a cardholder swipes a Visa or MasterCard. The state claimed the fees were improper and that New Mexico merchants were being harmed.

Prosecutors also said merchants were passing a portion of the fees on to customers in the form of higher prices.