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Visa and Mastercard have agreed to pay a $197.5 million settlement fund to settle a class action lawsuit over ATM surcharges. People who think they may be eligible for an ATM transaction class action settlement can check the details of the class action settlement here.
Class members who wish to receive compensation may submit a Claim Settlement Claim Form with Visa & Mastercard. According to the Visa & Mastercard class action settlement, the deadline to opt out of the settlement is November 22, 2024.
Request to settle lawsuit with Visa and Mastercard
A lawsuit was filed against Visa & Mastercard alleging that they violated antitrust laws by accepting non-discrimination rules that required customers to pay ATM access fees. A lawsuit was filed against the defendant in 2011, which was finally settled.
The plaintiffs alleged that Visa and Mastercard’s illegal surcharges on ATM transactions caused individual consumers and businesses to pay surcharges during a certain class period. JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo agreed to pay $67 million to settle the claims, according to past filings.
Now, in the current lawsuit against Visa and Mastercard, the defendants have agreed to pay a total of $197.5 million, while Visa will pay $104.675 million and Mastercard $92.825 million to compensate class members. As of current updates, Visa & Mastercard class members of the lawsuit settlement have until January 22, 2025 to submit a claim form.
Surcharge payment at an ATM
As we mentioned, the total ATM surcharge settlement fund is $197.5 million, the settlement administrator will first use the fund to cover the following expenses before distributing the payout among the class members:
- Costs and expenses of settlement administration
- Class Representative Service Awards
- Attorneys’ fees and costs
- Other settlement costs.
After the administrator deducts the above charges, the remaining net settlement fund will be used to compensate class members who have submitted a valid claim. Payment for each individual who submitted a valid claim depends on the number of claims submitted by the remaining net pool, court approved payment and evidence of ATM transactions.
The payout for the ATM surcharge payment will vary from person to person depending on the fees they paid for the ATM transactions and the records they submitted with their claim. Therefore, the amount of the payment per person will be known only when the requests are submitted and the administrator calculates the payment for each person after the final approval of the court.
Who Will Win Visa and Mastercard Lawsuit Settlement?
Under the settlement agreement, individuals who meet the following class member eligibility requirements may receive a settlement payment:
- Individuals and organizations that paid unreimbursed ATM access fees directly to JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo or banks that are part of the Visa and/or Mastercard ATM network between October 1, 2007 and July 26, 2024 would be eligible to pay the settlement.
Exceptions:
- Class members who submitted a settlement exclusion form or objection form before the November 22, 2024 deadline will be excluded from the settlement.
How Can You Claim a Visa and Mastercard Lawsuit Settlement?
Pursuant to the settlement agreement, class members who have filed a lawsuit regarding ATM surcharges in the past and received payment through the settlement are not required to file a claim form in this settlement. They will receive the payment automatically based on the information they provided in the previous settlement.
Class members who experienced multiple additional ATM charges after the initial claim may submit their claim to this settlement to be compensated for the new charges they incurred. Pursuant to the Agreement, Class Members who meet the above eligibility requirements may submit a Visa & Mastercard Settlement Form in the following ways:
- Online: You can submit the Visa & Mastercard settlement claim form through official settlement website which will be available soon and access the claim form with their notification ID and confirmation code they received in the settlement notification. Persons who did not receive notification but are entitled to compensation can submit a claim through another option.
- Offline: Class members who cannot apply through the online process can download the claim form from the official website to find the claim form in the settlement notice. You can fill out the application form and attach proofs, such as receipts from ATMs charged with fees, you can submit the application form to the following postal address:
- Settlement of ATM surcharge
- PO Box 170500
- Milwaukee, WI 53217
When can you expect a Visa & Mastercard claim payment?
Visa and Mastercard settlement class members who plan to file before the January 22, 2025 deadline can expect to be paid once the court approves the settlement at a final fairness and reliability hearing. According to reports, the final hearing of the Visa & Mastercard settlement will take place on January 23, 2025.
If the court approves the $197.5 million settlement, class members with approved claims can expect payment after 30 to 60 days based on the payment method they chose on the claim form. Payments will be processed promptly by the settlement administrator upon final approval after covering other costs.
However, if someone appeals the court’s decision to finally approve the Visa & Mastercard settlement, payment will be stopped until the court resolves the appeal.
The Visa & Mastercard antitrust lawsuit has reached its final stage, so class members should file a settlement request form immediately to ensure they receive adequate compensation for the inconvenience they suffered due to additional ATM transaction fees.
