Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/17pdf/16-1454_5h26.pdf
Page Number: 23.0

Cite as:  585 U. S. ____ (2018) 

19 

Opinion of the Court 

broader  merchant  acceptance  is  a  major  advantage  for
these networks and a significant challenge for Amex, since
consumers  prefer  cards  that  will  be  accepted  everywhere. 
Ibid.  And  to  compete  even  further  with  Amex,  Visa  and 
MasterCard  charge  different  merchant  fees  for  different
types of cards to maintain their comparatively lower mer-
chant  fees  and  broader  acceptance.    Over  the  long  run,
this competition has created a trend of declining merchant 
fees  in  the  credit-card  market.    In  fact,  since  the  first 
credit  card  was  introduced  in  the  1950s,  merchant  fees— 
including Amex’s merchant fees—have decreased by more
than  half.    See  id.,  at  202–203;  Paying  With  Plastic  54, 
126, 152. 

Lastly,  there  is  nothing  inherently  anticompetitive
about  Amex’s  antisteering  provisions.  These  agreements
actually  stem  negative  externalities  in  the  credit-card 
market  and  promote  interbrand  competition.    When  mer-
chants  steer  cardholders  away  from  Amex  at  the  point  of 
sale,  it  undermines  the  cardholder’s  expectation  of  “wel-
come  acceptance”—the  promise  of  a  frictionless  transac-
tion.  88 F. Supp. 3d, at 156.  A lack of welcome acceptance 
at  one  merchant  makes  a  cardholder  less  likely  to  use
Amex at all other merchants.  This externality endangers
the  viability  of  the  entire  Amex  network.  And  it  under-
mines the investments that Amex has made to encourage
increased  cardholder  spending,  which  discourages  invest-
ments  in  rewards  and  ultimately  harms  both  cardholders
and  merchants.    Cf.  Leegin,  551  U. S.,  at  890–891  (recog-
nizing  that  vertical  restraints  can  prevent  retailers  from
free  riding  and  thus  increase  the  availability  of  “tangible
or intangible services or promotional efforts” that enhance 
competition  and  consumer  welfare).  Perhaps  most  im-
portantly,  antisteering  provisions  do  not  prevent  Visa, 
MasterCard, or Discover from competing against Amex by 
offering  lower  merchant  fees  or  promoting  their  broader