Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby Stores and Christian retail chain Mardel are taking their merchant fees fight to court. The companies filed an antitrust lawsuit July 23 against Visa and MasterCard in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

"The exercise of this market power has led merchants to pay excessive interchange fees," Hobby Lobby claims in its lawsuit, according to newsok.com. "In this manner, Visa and MasterCard have unlawfully restrained competition in these markets."

With more than 600 stores, Hobby Lobby pays millions of dollars in merchant fees each year, according to the lawsuit. The arts-and-crafts retailer said its customers would benefit from lower prices if the chain didn’t have to pay fees it deems “excessive” when customers use their debit or credit cards in store transactions.

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