Canadian Credit Card Settlement

Settlement Fund

$131,000,000 (net) Canadian dollars

Settlement Period

March 23, 2001 - September 2, 2021

Claim Filing Deadline

December 30, 2022

Overview

Class actions were started in Canada claiming certain banks and Visa and Mastercard (the “Defendants”) conspired to set higher interchange fees and to impose rules restricting merchants’ ability to surcharge or refuse higher cost Visa and Mastercard credit cards. “Interchange Fees” are fees paid by merchants and collected by banks for transactions involving Visa and/or Mastercard credit cards in Canada.

Eligibility

If you accept or accepted Visa credit cards and/or Mastercard credit cards as payment for goods or services and incurred merchant discount fees, including interchange fees, in Canada between March 23, 2001 and September 2, 2021, you may be eligible to submit a claim.

Filing Requirements

The only way to receive a payment under the Settlement is to submit a completed claim form and all required documents (if necessary) online, by email or fax no later than December 30, 2022, at 11:59 pm PST. Mailed claim submissions must be postmarked no later than December 30, 2022. Alternatively, you can enroll in MCAG's Settlement Recovery Service.

Plan of Allocation

The Net Settlement Amount will be divided into three (3) funds. Settlement Class Members will be paid from the fund that corresponds to their average yearly revenue

1. Small Merchant Fund - Settlement Class Members who collect less than $5 million in average yearly revenue over the Settlement Period, and submit an undocumented claim. These entities will receive $30 per year claimed (over the Settlement Period).

2. Medium Merchant Fund - Settlement Class Members who collect between $5 million and $20 million in average yearly revenue over the Settlement Period, and submit a simplified claim. These entities will receive $250 per year claimed (over the Settlement Period).

3. Large Merchant Fund - Settlement Class Members who collect more than $20 million in average yearly revenue over the Settlement Period, and submit a simplified claim. These entities will receive $250 per year claimed (over the Settlement Period).

Alternatively, Settlement Class Members who submit a documented claim will receive a proportional share of the Large Merchant fund (to be determined once all claims are submitted).

Enroll in MCAG's Settlement Recovery Service

If your organization is exploring ways to identify and recover class-action settlement funds, visit our Inquiries page to learn more about MCAG's services and to schedule a consultation. There are no upfront fees—MCAG aligns its incentives with yours and charges a percentage of any recoveries obtained on your behalf. If no money is recovered for your organization from the Settlement(s), then MCAG will not charge or retain a fee.

Disclaimer: No-cost assistance will be available from the settlement parties during any claims-filing period. No one is required to sign up with any third-party service in order to participate in any settlement. For additional information regarding the status of the litigation, interested persons may visit https://www.CreditCardSettlements.ca, the Court-approved website for this case.