Claim your Share of a $5.5 Billion Settlement
If your business accepted Visa and/or Mastercard between 2004 - 2019, you're now eligible to claim your share of a $5.5 billion Settlement.
Overview
This lawsuit is about the fees that merchants had to pay when they accepted Visa or Mastercard credit and debit cards between January 1, 2004, and January 25, 2019. It also concerns the rules Visa and Mastercard put in place for merchants that accepted their cards.
Here's what the lawsuit claims:
- Visa and its partner banks, along with Mastercard and its partner banks, violated the law by setting these fees, known as interchange fees.
- Both Visa and Mastercard imposed rules that made it harder for merchants to encourage customers to use cheaper payment methods. These rules included no-surcharge policies, no-discounting policies, and rules requiring merchants to accept all types of their cards. This limited competition and kept the fees high.
- Visa and Mastercard allegedly worked together to create some of these policies, even after both companies became publicly traded corporations.
- The lawsuit claims that because of Visa's and Mastercard's actions, merchants ended up paying higher fees than they should have.
The companies involved argue that they have done nothing wrong and that their practices are legal, competitive, and have actually benefited both merchants and consumers.
This lawsuit is about whether merchants were unfairly charged excessive fees when accepting Visa and Mastercard payments. The team at Spectrum Payment Solutions can help you recover some of these fees that are owed to you.
Settlement Fund
$5.54 Billion Dollars
Settlement Period
Jan 1, 2004 - Jan 25, 2019
Filing Deadline
February 4, 2024
Current Status
Filing has Begun
Frequently Asked Questions
When a cardholder makes a purchase with a credit or debit card, merchants are charged an interchange fee, which typically ranges from 1% to 2% of the total purchase amount. These interchange fees make up the largest portion of the costs merchants pay when accepting Visa and Mastercard transactions.
Visa and Mastercard determine the rates for different types of transactions and update these fees regularly, usually twice a year. You can find the latest rates published on their websites.
In a class action, individuals or businesses can file a lawsuit not only for themselves but also on behalf of others with similar legal claims. These individuals or businesses form what is called a "class," and they are referred to as class members.
When the court makes a decision or approves a settlement, it applies to all class members unless they choose to exclude themselves. In this case, the Court has given final approval to the settlement, and the class, as defined in Question 6, is included. An appeal was filed on January 3, 2020, challenging the final approval order. The Settlement was eventually approved by the district court, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the case, affirming all parts of the final approval order except one. The time for filing appeals has now passed.
The Court has not ruled on whether either side was right or if any laws were violated. Instead, both sides agreed to settle the case to avoid the time, cost, and risks involved with going to trial and potential appeals.
This settlement was reached after extensive negotiations, including mediation with two experienced mediators selected by both parties. By settling, class members can receive payments without waiting for a trial. The Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs and their attorneys believe this settlement is the best outcome for all class members.
The settlement comes after thirteen years of intense litigation. Throughout the process, the Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs reviewed over 60 million pages of documents and took part in more than 550 depositions, including both fact and expert witnesses. Before settling, various motions, including those for dismissals, summary judgment, and class certification, were fully briefed and argued, though not decided by the Court.
As part of the settlement, Visa, Mastercard, and the Bank Defendants have agreed to provide $5.54 billion to merchants who did not opt out of the Settlement Class.
Merchants in the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class that remained in the class and filed a valid claim (“Authorized Claimant”) will receive payment from this settlement fund. The settlement fund will also cover:
- The costs of settlement administration, notice, and any applicable taxes or related tax expenses, as approved by the Court;
- Service awards for the Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs for their efforts on behalf of the class, as approved by the Court;
- Attorneys' fees and expenses, as approved by the Court.
The payment you receive from the settlement fund will be based on your actual or estimated interchange fees from Visa and Mastercard transactions made between you and your customers from January 1, 2004, through January 25, 2019.
The exact amount each Authorized Claimant will receive depends on several factors, including the total amount available to pay all claims, the total value of all valid claims submitted, the costs of class administration and notice, applicable taxes and tax-related expenses, attorneys' fees, and service awards to the Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs for their representation, all as approved by the Court.
No payments are expected to be made until after the Claims Period ends on February 4, 2025. Since the exact payment amounts depend on the total number of claims filed and reviewed, as well as the Court’s approval of the final amounts, we do not yet know when payments will be issued. We appreciate your patience during this process.
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