Visa makes $2.1bn Amex settlement

American Express is to accept a payment of about $2.1bn (£1bn) from Visa after it sued the recognition card giant and a figure of big United States banks.

In 2004 American Express filed a lawsuit saying Visa, MasterCard and their member Banks had illegally blocked it from the United States bank-issued card business.

Under the footing of the deal, American Express will drop Visa as a defendant.

Visa said it did not profess any liability through the settlement, which have to approved by its member banks.

Cartel claim

It also said the colony would be funded by members of Visa USA, not Visa Inc, which is preparing for an initial populace offering.

American Express had claimed the card associations' "anti-competitive practices" had prevented 20,000 United States Banks from using American Stock Exchange recognition card products.

It had also accused the card associations of operation "as a cartel".

American Express will now drop Banks named in the lawsuit, including JP Lewis Henry Morgan Chase, Capital One, United States Bancorp, H. G. Wells Fargo and Providian.

Seeking 'full compensation'

American Express will have $945m in March from Visa and another payment from the Banks named in the lawsuit under a judgement sharing agreement.

Another $1.12bn will be paid in episodes of up to $70m per one-fourth over four years, Visa said. American Express said it could have a upper limit of $2.25bn under the settlement, including the further payment from the banks.

The house said that Mastercard remained the exclusive suspect in the lawsuit.

"We be after to travel forward with the judicial proceeding to throw Mastercard answerable for the illegal actions that blocked Banks from working with us for many old age and to seek full compensation for the value that would have got been generated for our shareholders," said American Express president and main executive director Kenneth Chenault.