its not technically, but it is practically. i wouldn't say they -collude- but their discount rates (what merchants pay) have been going up. there are also new,

its not technically, but it is practically. i wouldn't say they -collude- but their discount rates (what merchants pay) have been going up. there are also new, completely arbitrary fees (yay NABU). and there is no incentive for prices to go down because the purchaser (the merchant) is separate from the consumer (the customer). V/MC rates could eventually inch up to 4 or 5% and there's pretty much nothing anybody can do about it except pass the costs to the customer.