The multiple-party, multiple-year case over credit card interchange moved one step closer to resolution on Nov. 9 when the Honorable Judge John Gleeson granted preliminary approval of the settlement agreement between retailers, payment networks and nine major card issuers.

The proposed settlement in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York was originally announced to almost immediate controversy on July 13, after several years of litigation.

"We view Judge Gleeson's ruling today as further indication that this historic settlement is a fair and balanced resolution to the epic swipe fee battle," said Trish Wexler, spokeswoman for the Electronic Payments Coalition, an payment industry trade group organized around the interchange issue and including credit unions. "After seven years of negotiation, two years of mediation, and compromise by both sides, the judicial process continues to work effectively and we have taken another important step toward settling this dispute between retailers and the payment card industry."