Credit Card War May Loom at Banks

Banks that offer Visa or MasterCard can begin offering competing credit cards after the Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal of a lawsuit in the case.

The court’s action is expected to increase competition among cards, perhaps spawning better rewards programs, new features and, less likely, lower interest rates.

The Justice Department sued Visa USA and MasterCard International in 1998, saying that prohibiting member banks from offering other credit cards violated antitrust law and hurt consumers. The practice had been in effect since 1974.

David Nelms, CEO of Discover Financial Services, says being able to offer its Discover card through banks will increase market share, cut marketing costs and allow for more innovations such as the tiny ?key chain? credit card it was first to offer two years ago.

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