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In March of 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a ruling in a class action lawsuit settlement against Visa and Mastercard. In the suit, the card processors were found to be charging unfair amounts in swipe fees to retail merchants. Because the court ruled in favor of the merchant class, and issued a $5.6 billion settlement, retailers who accepted Visa and Mastercard branded cards can claim money as part of the settlement.
To file a claim in the Visa/Mastercard class action lawsuit;
- Retailers must have accepted any Via or Mastercard branded cards at any time between January 1, 2004, and January 25, 2019.
- Retailers must not have previously settled their own lawsuit against Visa and Mastercard. These retailers are known as dismissed plaintiffs, and a list of them can be found here.
- Submit their claim, either by requesting a claim form via mail or online, by May 31, 2024.
While the deadline to submit a claim in the settlement is the end of May, there is no estimate as to when funds will be delivered to retailers, nor how much the final settlement amount per claimant will be. This is because, for class action lawsuits, the amount each person filing a claim receives is dependent on how many people file. Additionally, by filing a claim in the suit, individual retailers lose their right to file a suit against Visa and Mastercard for the same issues. The full settlement agreement is available online.
To learn more about the latest information on card processing fees, click here.
