Visa/MC Interchange Fee Settlement
- MCAG
- Aug 12, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 28
In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation | MDL No. 1720] ("Settlement").
The Court-approved deadline to file claims passed on February 4, 2025.
If you have received a Conflict Notice, please direct your inquiries to conflicts@mcaginc.com.
MCAG will continue to monitor the settlement and inform you of any updates as they occur. In the meantime, please keep your information updated on the HUB.
Settlement Fund
$5.54 billion
Settlement Period
January 1, 2004 - January 25, 2019
Claim Filing Deadline
February 4, 2025
Overview
Visa, Mastercard, and the Defendant Banks have officially reached a settlement on interchange fees with the Court granting final approval of this Settlement on December 13, 2019. Once appeals are decided and a claims process is established, eligible merchants will be able to claim their share of the billions in settlement funds.
If your business accepted Visa or Mastercard payments any time from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019, you may be eligible to recover significant funds from this pending Settlement. The claim forms have been mailed and available since December 2023 and the filing deadline for claim submission is February 4, 2025, you can engage MCAG now to ensure that a proper and timely claim is filed on behalf of your business.
Settlement Recovery Service Details
Our service includes the following:
Gather relevant business and payment information that may be available from our payment card processing partners.
Review this data with the Settlement database(s) and other available sources.
File a complete and accurate claim into the settlement in an effort to maximize your return.
Reconcile with the Settlement Administrator to help ensure that you receive a proper and timely recovery.
Register for MCAG's recovery service by going to our registration landing page and entering the unique six-digit code given to you by your processing company. If you don't have a code, fill out a contact form on our website and one of our account services representatives will help you complete your registration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Settlement Info
What is this settlement about?
This settlement arose from a lawsuit alleging that merchants paid excessive interchange fees for accepting Visa and Mastercard payments, as a result of Visa, Mastercard and certain Bank Defendants conspiring together.
What is an interchange fee?
When a payment is made with a debit or credit card, an interchange fee is charged to the merchant accepting the payment (typically, 1-2% of the total transaction). Visa and Mastercard set interchange fee rates for different types of transactions and publish them on their websites.
What period of transactions does the settlement cover?
The settlement covers Visa and Mastercard payments that were accepted between January 1, 2004 and January 25, 2019.
How much money will be provided in this settlement?
Visa, Mastercard and the Bank Defendants have agreed to provide a settlement fund of $5.54 billion to merchants that did not exclude themselves from the Settlement Class. Every merchant in the settlement class that did not exclude itself from the class, and files a valid claim will be paid from the settlement fund.
The settlement fund will also be used to pay various fees and expenses related to settlement administration and notice, taxes, Class Plaintiff awards, and attorneys' fees, as approved by the Court.
Am I eligible to recover money from this settlement?
If you are a merchant that accepted any Visa or Mastercard payments between January 1, 2004 and January 25, 2019, you may be eligible to recover funds from the settlement.
Claim Filing
How do I recover money from the settlement?
If you are an eligible class member, you must file a claim or have a claim filed on your behalf to receive funds from the settlement.
When will the claims process begin?
After years of delays, the Court granted Final Approval of this Settlement on December 13, 2019. Some organizations have filed appeals to the final-approval order. All appeals were resolved, and the claims process began in December 2023 and the settlement deadline to submit a claim was on February 4, 2025.
Is this the official settlement website?
No. The settlement website is www.paymentcardsettlement.com.
Can I file a claim on my own?
Yes, you could submit a claim on or before February 4, 2025 by visiting the settlement website: www.paymentcardsettlement.com.
MCAG's Services
Why would I use MCAG?
MCAG is an expert at identifying and recovering non-traditional high margin revenue for all types of organizations from class action settlements. Registering for MCAG's service means we will:
Acquire as much of the relevant historical data as possible,
Fill out all of the necessary documentation,
Submit a comprehensive claim in an effort to maximize recoveries,
Correspond with the Settlement Administrator,
Reconcile returns on behalf of our clients, and
Distribute net recoveries from the settlement funds.
MCAG recovers the most for your claim with the least effort on your part. Over 320,000 businesses have already registered for our recovery services, which you can learn more about here.
Do I need to provide any financial statements or data to MCAG?
In order to challenge any submitted claims, supporting documentation is needed to support any challenged claims such as the following:
Financial reports showing sales for the years in question.
A sample of statements, ideally from before January 2019.
A declaration stating the amount of sales attributed to credit card transactions.
Through partnerships with dozens of payment processing companies, MCAG uses an immense data warehouse to relieve merchants of the potential burden of having to gather historical data across multiple locations and multiple processors. This includes current and historical data for millions of merchants. MCAG has a proven history of utilizing this supporting data to optimize the claim submission process and increase recoveries.
What is a Merchant ID Number?
A Merchant ID Number, or MID, is assigned to merchants by their credit card processor or merchant services provider. It can be found on billing statements or by contacting the merchant services provider.
Does this service cost me anything?
MCAG works on a contingent fee basis so we retain a portion of your settlement recovery amount, once it is recovered. If your business is not entitled to a settlement recovery, you won't be charged a fee.
How do I stay updated on the settlement?
Once registered for MCAG's services, you will receive email updates when there is new information regarding the settlement. You can also visit the Court website for any additional updates at www.paymentcardsettlement.com.
Need more information? Call MCAG at 1-800-355-0466 to learn more or CLICK HERE to complete our contact form and an MCAG representative will respond shortly.
Payment Card Settlement Disclaimer: The claims filing deadline of February 4, 2025 has passed. No-cost assistance is available from the Class Administrator and Class Counsel. No one is required to sign up with any third-party service in order to participate in any monetary relief. For additional information regarding the status of the litigation, interested persons may visit http://www.paymentcardsettlement.com, the Court-approved website for this case.
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