Abraham Jewett , Jon Styf  |  March 23, 2023

Category: Credit Cards

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Visa & Mastercard
(Photo Credit: Vastram/ hutterstock)

Update:

  • The United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit unanimously upheld a record $5.6 billion settlement in a class action lawsuit against Visa and Mastercard over fees charged to a class estimated to include 12 million merchants.
  • Visa and Mastercard were accused of violating the 130-year-old Sherman Antitrust Act by setting non-competitive fee prices with member banks to charge merchants who accepted credit or debit cards.
  • The settlement includes $900,000 in service awards for the lead plaintiffs in a case that ran nearly 15 years before the 2019 settlement agreement.
  • Co-lead counsel Robins Kaplan LLC says there could be further proceedings and then administrative work before funds can be distributed to the class.

Visa, Mastercard transaction fee class action lawsuit overview: 

  • Who: Multidistrict litigation against Visa, Mastercard and several U.S. banks has been granted class action status by a New York judge. 
  • Why: Visa and Mastercard have been accused of conspiring with some U.S. banks to overcharge merchants on transactions made using their company’s credit or debit cards. 
  • Where: The multidistrict litigation is being heard in New York federal court. 

(Oct. 1, 2021)

Partial class action status has been granted for a longstanding multidistrict litigation (MDL) accusing Mastercard, Visa and some U.S. banks of working together to overcharge merchants on transaction fees.

Plaintiffs in the MDL allege the financial services companies collaborated with several banks, including JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Barclays, to maintain anti-competitive regulations which led to merchants being assessed higher transaction fees. 

The Class will consist of individuals or businesses in the United States that accepted payment from Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards issued between Dec. 18 and the eventual date of final judgement, Law360 reports.

The MDL was originally consolidated back in 2005. In 2012, Visa and Mastercard, along with multiple banks, paid $6 billion to end claims they worked together to inflate transaction fees, at which time the focus became the setting of interchange fees in general. 

Prior to class authorization, Visa and Mastercard settled with companies over transaction fee dispute

Dozens of companies have settled with Visa and Mastercard over the years for various amounts, including, among others, Radioshack Corp., Orbitz Worldwide LLC and the Men’s Wearhouse Inc. 

Last year, multiple companies — including Exxon, United Airlines, Avon and the New York City transit authorities — settled with Visa and Mastercard over the allegations and similarly left the litigation. 

In 2014, hundreds of merchants appealed a $7.25 billion class action settlement agreement, arguing it was unlawful and provided Visa and Mastercard with too much protection from future litigation. 

Do you believe your business has been overcharged while accepting payment from Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Richard E. Norman and R. Martin Weber Jr. of Crowley Norman LLP and Jeffrey J. Angelovich of Nix Patterson & Roach LLP.

The Visa, MasterCard transaction fee class action lawsuit is In re: Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:14-md-01720, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.


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41 thoughts onAppeals court upholds $5.6 billion Visa, Mastercard antitrust litigation

  1. George Chiampas says:

    Add me

  2. George Sperber says:

    Please contact me regarding a deli owned for several years during this time frame.

  3. richard w turel says:

    My Car Insurance was paid for several years without any claims. I paid with American Express. When I canceled the Insurance the Agency refused to provide a refund unless I submitted several personal additional items that would pose possible Identity Theft and excessive forms in foreign language. I refused to give that information and requested a refund to my credit card (which their website promises) I never received my refund. Chubb is the Underwriter.

  4. Amber says:

    Add me

  5. Francis Mcfarland says:

    Is this for business credit cards only

  6. Idella Mitchell says:

    Please include me in this litigation as I hold many of these credit cards.

  7. Melinda Murphy says:

    Please add me.

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