The Green Sheet Online Edition
January 12, 2026 • 26:01:01
News Briefs
Retailers balk at Visa-Mastercard settlement proposal <- click to read full story
Opposition is growing to a proposed settlement in the long-running interchange litigation involving Visa and Mastercard, with Walmart and major retail trade groups urging a federal court to reject the deal.
Walmart argued the agreement offers little improvement over a settlement rejected last year and again favors small merchants while failing to address the core concerns of large national retailers. It said class counsel ignored guidance to treat large merchants equitably and excluded Walmart from meaningful negotiations.
Walmart and trade groups also criticized "illusory" relief from honor-all-cards rules, noting that surcharging, discounting and time-limited interchange caps provide little practical value and could be easily circumvented. The National Retail Federation and Retail Industry Leaders Association warned the settlement would bind merchants to unfavorable terms and block future legal challenges.
Shift4's Isaacman to head NASA <- click to read full story
Merchant acquiring veteran Jared Isaacman was confirmed Dec. 17, 2025, as the 15th Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Isaacman is the founder of Shift4 Payments, which went public in 2020 and whose technology he has said serves roughly 40 percent of U.S. hotels.
A seasoned pilot, Isaacman funded and commanded the first all-civilian spaceflight in 2021, raising $250 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and became the first civilian to conduct a spacewalk in 2024.
He stepped down as Shift4 CEO earlier this year, becoming executive chairman after his NASA nomination. Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur is also founder of Draken International and the Black Diamond Jet Team.
More consumers take on more BNPL loans <- click to read full story
More consumers are using buy now, pay later loans more often and for larger amounts, but new data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests loan performance is improving. The CFPB's Buy Now, Pay Later Market Data Spotlight, covering 2022 and 2023, shows rising usage and balances alongside declining late fees and charge-offs.
Data from six major providers—Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal, Sezzle and Zip—shows 53.6 million Americans used BNPL in 2023, a 12 percent increase from 2022. Originations climbed to 335.8 million loans totaling $43.9 billion, with higher average loan sizes and more loans per borrower. Inflation-adjusted balances rose as well.
Meanwhile, late fee revenue and charge-off rates fell, reflecting improved credit models and a greater focus on repeat customers.
Fed finds slower debit growth, rising fraud losses, steady interchange <- click to read full story
The Federal Reserve's biennial debit and prepaid card report shows debit use continues to grow but at a slower pace, while fraud losses are rising and interchange fees remain largely stable.
Released in December 2025, the report covers transaction volumes, fees, costs and fraud trends through 2023. The Fed found that debit and general-use prepaid transactions totaled about 100.7 billion in 2023, reflecting average annual growth of 4.6 percent from 2021 to 2023, slower than in prior years.
Interchange fees totaled $34.12 billion and have grown modestly since 2021, while Regulation II-covered fees have remained largely unchanged. Fraud losses more than doubled compared with 2011, with merchants bearing nearly half of losses. Despite higher fraud, the Fed concluded interchange caps still exceed issuer costs for most covered transactions.
Consumer spending posts healthy gains during holiday season <- click to read full story
U.S. consumer spending posted solid gains during the 2025 holiday season, reflecting steady confidence and flexible shopping behavior, according to data from Mastercard. Retail sales excluding automotive rose 3.9 percent year over year between Nov. 1 and Dec. 21, based on Mastercard's SpendingPulse report. Consumers shopped earlier, leaned into promotions, and blended online and in-store channels throughout the season.
Research from the National Retail Federation found nearly 159 million consumers planned to shop on Super Saturday. Ecommerce sales climbed 7.4 percent, while in-store sales rose 2.9 percent, highlighting the importance of omnichannel strategies.
Apparel spending increased sharply, and restaurant spending rose 5.2 percent. Mastercard also cited the growing use of artificial intelligence to drive personalization, efficiency and improved inventory planning. 
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