$197.5 million Visa and Mastercard settlement: Who is eligible for the one-time payment?
The companies agreed to a significant settlement to resolve a long-standing class action lawsuit related to allegations of fixing the price of ATM fees.
A big lawsuit, filed in October 2011, accused Visa and Mastercard of violating antitrust laws by agreeing to certain “Non-Discrimination Rules” that allegedly increased the ATM access fees paid by consumers. Now the chickens are coming back to roost.
The settlement fund will be divided between Visa and Mastercard, with Visa paying 53% ($104.6 million) and Mastercard paying 47% ($92.8 million).
The funds will be distributed among class members who submit valid claims. It is estimated that the money could be split among an estimated 175 million to 215 million people in the settlement class, covering a majority of the US population.
To be eligible for the settlement, individuals or entities must have been charged unreimbursed access fees to withdraw cash at bank-operated ATMs between October 1, 2007, and July 26, 2024. This includes a wide range of users, from individual consumers to businesses that may have incurred these fees during the specified period.
How to claim the payment
Class members must file a simple verified claim for payment. Those who have already received payments from previous bank settlements may be auto-eligible for this settlement.
Claims must be filed by January 22, 2025, to be eligible for the settlement.
However, if the full amount of expected claimants file then payments could be as little as $1 each.
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