The Visa and Mastercard agreed to pay a settlement fund of $197.5 million to resolve the ATM surcharges class action lawsuit settlement. People who think they are eligible for the class action lawsuit settlement of ATM transactions can check the class action settlement details here.
The class members who wish to receive compensation can submit the claim form for the Visa & Mastercard lawsuit settlement. Under the Visa & Mastercard class action settlement, the deadline to exclude yourself from the settlement is 22 Nov 2024.
Visa & Mastercard Lawsuit Settlement Claim
The lawsuit was filed against Visa & Mastercard alleging they had violated the antitrust laws as they accepted the Non-discrimination rules that made the users pay the ATM access fees. The lawsuit was filed against the defendants in 2011, which has finally reached a settlement.
The plaintiffs alleged that unlawful surcharges on the ATM transactions of Visa and Mastercard have caused individual consumers and businesses to pay extra fees during a certain class period. According to the past record, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo have agreed to pay $67 million to resolve the claims.
Now, in the current Visa and Mastercard lawsuit, the defendants have agreed to pay a total of $197.5 million, whereas Visa will pay $104.675 million and Mastercard will pay $92.825 million to compensate the class members. According to the current updates, the class members of the Visa & Mastercard Lawsuit settlement can file the claim form till 22 Jan 2025.
ATM Surcharge Settlement Payout
As we have mentioned, the total settlement fund of the ATM surcharge settlement 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:
- Settlement Administration cost and expenses
- Service Awards for the class representatives
- Attorney fees and costs
- Other settlement expenses.
After the administrator deducts the above-mentioned expenses, the remaining net settlement fund will be used to compensate the class members who have filed the valid claim. The payout for each individual who has filed a valid claim depends on the number of claims filed by the remaining net fund, the payment approved by the court, and the evidence of ATM transactions.
The payout for the ATM surcharge payout will vary from person to person depending on the charges they have paid for the ATM transactions and the records they have submitted with their claim. Hence, the payout per person will be only known when the claims are filed and the administrator has calculated the payment for each person after the final approval from the court.
Who will receive the Visa & Mastercard lawsuit settlement?
According to the lawsuit settlement agreement, people who meet the following eligibility conditions of the class members can receive the settlement payout:
- People and organizations that, between the class period 01 October 2007, and 26 July 2024 have paid unreimbursed ATM access charges directly to JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, or banks that are part of the Visa and/or Mastercard ATM network would be entitled to the settlement payout.
Exclusions:
- The class members who have submitted the settlement exclusion form or objection form before the deadline of 22 Nov 2024 will be excluded from the settlement.
How can you claim the Visa & Mastercard lawsuit settlement?
According to the settlement agreement, the class members who have filed the claim in the past regarding the ATM surcharges and received the payment through the settlement do not have to file the claim form in this settlement. They will receive the payment automatically based on the information they have submitted in the previous settlement.
The class members who have experienced more ATM surcharges after the initial claim can submit their claim of this settlement to receive compensation for the new charges they incurred. Based on the agreement, class members who meet the above eligible conditions can file their Visa & Mastercard settlement claim form in the following ways:
- Online: You can file the Visa & Mastercard settlement claim form through the official settlement website available soon and access the claim form with their Notice ID and confirmation code they receive in the settlement notice. People who did not receive the notice but are eligible for the compensation can submit the claim form through the second option.
- Offline: The class members who can’t 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 claim form and attach the evidence, such as ATM receipts that they have charged with fees can submit the claim form at the following postal address:
- ATM Surcharge Settlement
- PO Box 170500
- Milwaukee, WI 53217
When can you expect your Visa & Mastercard lawsuit payout?
The class members of the Visa and Mastercard settlement who plan to file the claim before the deadline of 22 Jan 2025 can expect the payout after the court approves the settlement in the final hearing of fairness and reliability. According to reports, the final hearing of the Visa & Mastercard settlement will take place on 23 Jan 2025.
If the court approves the $197.5 million settlement, the class members with approved claims can expect the payout after 30 to 60 days based on the payment method they have selected in the claim form. The settlement administrator will immediately process the payments after the final approval after covering the other expenses.
However, if someone appeals against the court decision on the Visa & Mastercard settlement final approval, the payment will stop until the court resolves the appeals.
The Visa & Mastercard antitrust lawsuit has reached its final stage, so class members should immediately file the settlement claim form to ensure they will receive the appropriate compensation for the inconvenience they suffered due to the additional ATM transaction fees.