"A U.S. judge on Tuesday ⁠granted ⁠preliminary approval to Visa's and Mastercard's revised $38 ⁠billion settlement with merchants who accused the card networks of charging too much to ​process payments on their credit cards. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn, New York ruled nearly two years after a different judge rejected a ‌proposed $30 billion settlement as too small. The settlement ‌announced last November was intended to end litigation that began in 2005, when merchants accused Visa, Mastercard and banks of conspiring ⁠to violate ⁠U.S. antitrust laws, including through the collection of "swipe fees."