Visa and Mastercard $5.54 Billion Settlement for Antitrust Violations

_Important Update: Claim Filing Deadline Extended to August 30, 2024_

Visa and Mastercard have agreed to pay $5,540,000,000 to settle a class action lawsuit for alleged antitrust violations, including setting excessive interchange fees and imposing restrictive rules on merchants. This settlement benefits merchants who accepted Visa or Mastercard payments between January 1, 2004, and January 25, 2019.

Who Benefits?: Merchants who accepted Visa or Mastercard payments during the specified period.

How much can I get?: The amount will be based on the interchange fees attributable to your transactions.

Important Dates

• Deadline to File a Claim: August 30, 2024

Can I Claim an Award?

To be eligible for an award, you must be a merchant who accepted Visa or Mastercard payments in the United States from January 1, 2004, to January 25, 2019. This includes all persons, businesses, and other entities that accepted these cards during this period. The settlement class does not include the United States government, the named Defendants or their directors, officers, or family members, and financial institutions that issued or acquired Visa or Mastercard transactions during the specified period.

If you received a notice in the mail, the Defendants' records likely show that you are part of the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class. If you are uncertain about your status, you should contact the Class Administrator for clarification.

Who is Excluded?

The Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class does not include:

• The Dismissed Plaintiffs, who previously settled and dismissed their own lawsuit against a Defendant.
• The United States government.
• The named Defendants in this Action or their directors, officers, or members of their families.
• Financial institutions that have issued Visa-Branded Cards or Mastercard-Branded Cards or acquired Visa-Branded Card transactions or Mastercard-Branded Card transactions at any time from January 1, 2004, to January 25, 2019.

What Awards Can Class Members Claim?

Under the settlement, Visa, Mastercard, and the Bank Defendants have agreed to provide $5.54 billion to merchants who did not exclude themselves from the Settlement Class. Every merchant in the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class that did not exclude itself and filed a valid claim will be paid from the settlement fund.

The money in this settlement fund will also be used to pay the cost of settlement administration and notice, applicable taxes on the settlement fund, money awards for Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs for their service on behalf of the class, and attorneys' fees and expenses, as approved by the Court.

What Products or Services Are Covered by the Settlement?

This settlement concerns the interchange fees and rules imposed by Visa and Mastercard on merchants who accepted their credit or debit cards between January 1, 2004, and January 25, 2019. These rules include:

• No-surcharge rules
• No-discounting rules
• Honor-all-cards rules
• Other similar rules that limited merchants' ability to steer customers to other payment methods

Is Proof Required to Claim the Reward?

Yes, proof is required to claim an award. The Class Administrator has data from Defendants and others to estimate the total value of interchange fees attributable to each Authorized Claimant. If the necessary data is not available or disputed, the class member must submit information in support of their claim, including interchange fees paid, merchant discount fees paid, merchant category code, and total Visa and Mastercard transaction volume.

How to Claim Your Award

To claim your award, you must file a valid claim. You can do this by scanning the QR code provided on the Claim Form you received or by visiting the claim submission page. If you did not receive a claim form, you can start the claim filing process by providing your Taxpayer Identification Number on the same page.

Once your claim is submitted, it will be reviewed by the Class Administrator. You will be contacted if additional information is needed. It is your responsibility to update the Class Administrator if your contact information changes.

$5,540,000,000 Settlement

The settlement amount is $5.54 billion. This amount was agreed upon after extensive negotiations and mediation. It will be used to compensate merchants who accepted Visa or Mastercard payments and did not exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The settlement fund will also cover the costs of settlement administration, notice, applicable taxes, money awards for Class Plaintiffs, and attorneys' fees and expenses. The amount each Authorized Claimant will receive depends on the total value of all valid claims filed and the costs mentioned above.

Why There is a Class Action Settlement

This class action settlement addresses claims that Visa and Mastercard, along with their respective member banks, violated antitrust laws by setting excessive interchange fees and imposing restrictive rules on merchants. These practices allegedly insulated them from competitive pressure to lower the fees, causing merchants to pay more than they should have for accepting Visa and Mastercard payments.

The settlement allows merchants to receive compensation without the cost and risk of trial and appeals. The Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs and their lawyers believe this settlement is in the best interest of all class members.

For more information, visit the official settlement website or contact the Class Administrator at 1-800-625-6440.