Did your business accept payments between 2004 and 2019?

This lawsuit primarily revolves around the interchange fees associated with merchants accepting Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019, as well as the rules imposed by Visa and Mastercard on these merchants. The class plaintiffs allege the following:

Visa, along with its member banks (including the Bank Defendants), violated the law by setting interchange fees.

Mastercard, along with its member banks (including the Bank Defendants), violated the law by setting interchange fees.

Visa and its member banks (including the Bank Defendants) violated the law by imposing and enforcing rules that restricted merchants from directing customers to alternative payment methods, such as no-surcharge rules, no-discounting rules, honor-all-cards rules, and other rules. This insulated them from competitive pressure to lower interchange fees.

Mastercard and its member banks (including the Bank Defendants) violated the law by imposing and enforcing rules that limited merchants from steering customers to other payment methods. These rules included no-surcharge rules, no-discounting rules, honor-all-cards rules, and certain other rules. This protected them from competitive pressure to reduce interchange fees.

Visa and Mastercard engaged in a conspiracy regarding some of the challenged business practices.

Despite Visa undergoing a change in its corporate structure and becoming a publicly owned corporation after this case was filed, it continued these activities along with its member banks.

Similarly, despite Mastercard changing its corporate structure and becoming a publicly owned corporation after this case was filed, it and its member banks continued these activities.

The defendants' actions resulted in merchants paying excessive interchange fees for accepting Visa and Mastercard cards.

If not for the defendants' conduct, either no interchange fee would have been charged or the fees would have been lower.

The defendants refute these allegations, claiming that their business practices are legal, justified, the outcome of independent competition, and have benefited both merchants and consumers.

Not all businesses will meet the eligibility criteria. Our legal team will collaborate with the settlement administrator to determine if your business meets the requirements.

Whenever a cardholder uses a credit or debit card to make a purchase, there is a fee called the interchange fee associated with that transaction. This fee generally amounts to approximately 1% to 2% of the purchase price. Interchange fees typically constitute the majority of the fees charged to merchants for accepting Visa and Mastercard cards. Visa and Mastercard establish interchange fee rates for various types of transactions and publicly disclose them on their websites, usually on a biannual basis.

The payment you receive from the settlement fund will be determined based on the actual or estimated interchange fees associated with Visa and Mastercard card transactions between your business and your customers from January 1, 2004, through January 25, 2019. The specific amount that each eligible claimant will receive depends on various factors, including the available funds to cover all claims, the total value of valid claims submitted, the expenses related to administering the class action and providing notice, applicable taxes on the settlement fund and any associated tax costs, attorneys' fees and expenses, and monetary awards to the Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs for representing merchants in MDL 1720, which led to the Class Settlement Agreement, all of which have been approved by the Court.

Our legal team is proactively gathering claim information in advance and will soon be submitting it on your behalf.

To be eligible, your business does not need to be currently active. It simply needs to have existed at any point between January 1, 2004, and January 25, 2019, and accepted Visa and Mastercard payments. Whether your business has closed or been dissolved by the state's division of corporations, there is no need to worry. Once you engage our law firm, we will collaborate with the settlement administrator to verify if your business meets the qualification criteria.

Our legal team will collaborate with the settlement administrator to assess your eligibility. In the event that you do not meet the requirements, our team will inform you accordingly.

You are only required to pay us a fee if we are successful in recovering funds for your business. In the event that we are able to secure a refund, our lawyers will be compensated at a rate of 40% from the recovered amount.

While it is not mandatory for your business to hire a lawyer for this settlement, it is advisable to engage our experienced legal team to ensure that you receive the full amount you are entitled to. With over a decade of experience in handling class actions, our lawyers have successfully obtained over $1 billion for our clients through settlements. Please note that not all businesses will qualify for a payment as this settlement requires the submission of a valid and timely claim. We will closely collaborate with the claims administrator to ensure that your business receives proper compensation if you meet the eligibility criteria. It is worth mentioning that historically, nearly 95% of entitled class action beneficiaries do not receive their rightful benefits. This is often due to a lack of awareness about the settlement, difficulties in completing claim forms, failure to provide necessary documents or information within the specified timeframe, or inadequate follow-up communication with settlement administrators. Our team will ensure that your claim is promptly and accurately submitted without any complications. Additionally, we will advocate for the correct amount if there are discrepancies between the entitled sum and the disbursed amount.

The Settlement Administrator and Class Counsel are available to assist your business free of charge during the claims-filing period. However, by engaging our legal team, you are granting our attorneys full authority to communicate with the Settlement Administrator on behalf of your business. They will make all decisions pertaining to your business' status as a class member and handle your business' claim. Our attorneys will act as the sole representative for you and your business throughout the settlement process, which includes receiving the claim form from the Settlement Administrator, preparing and submitting the claim, and communicating with the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel regarding your business and its claim. They will also address any follow-up requests from the Settlement Administrator for additional information or documentation required to substantiate a valid claim. Rest assured, our team will ensure that your business is paid accurately and in a timely manner.