Americans to receive one-time payment from $5.6 billion Visa Mastercard settlement – and the deadline has been extended

AMERICANS have the opportunity to claim a one-time payment from a billion-dollar class action settlement.

Visa and Mastercard agreed pay $5.6 billion after consumers paid excessive fees to accept their payment cards.

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The lawsuit alleged that Visa and Mastercard violated the antitrust laws.

Antitrust laws also referred to as competition laws, are statutes developed by the US government to protect consumers from predatory business practices.

They ensure that fair competition exists in an open-market economy .

Visa and Mastercard, and its respective member banks, violated the law because they set interchange fees.

When a cardholder makes a purchase with a credit or debit card, there is an interchange fee which is usually around 1% to 2% of the purchase price.

Interchange fees typically account for the greatest part of the fees paid by merchants for accepting Visa and Mastercard cards.

Visa and Mastercard set interchange fee rates for different kinds of transactions and publish them on their websites, usually twice a year.

The lawsuit alleges that consumers were subjected to excessive interchange fees for accepting Visa and Mastercard cards which could have been lower or completely avoidable.

The companies did not admit to any wrongdoing but did agree to settle.

All persons, businesses, and other entities that have accepted any Visa or Mastercard cards in the United States at any time from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019 could be eligible to receive free money.

The card companies have agreed to provide a maximum of approximately $6.2 billion and a minimum of at least $5.6 billion.

Every class member that does not exclude itself from the class
by the deadline and files a valid claim will be paid from the settlement fund.

This settlement fund will be reduced by an amount not to exceed $700 million to account for those who exclude themselves.

The money in this settlement fund will also be used to pay:

What's a class-action settlement?

Class action lawsuits offer groups of people, or 'classes,' a way to band together in court.

These suits are often brought by one or a few people who allege a company or other entity has wronged a large group of people.

When a suit becomes a class action, it extends to all “class members,” or people who may have similar complaints to those who filed the suit.

Companies often settle class actions – offering payment to class members who typically waive their right to pursue further legal action by accepting money.

These payout agreements frequently include statements by the defendant denying wrongdoing. Companies tend to settle class actions to avoid the costs of further litigation.

Pollution, discrimination, or false advertising are a few examples of what can land a class action on a company’s doorstep.

• The cost of settlement administration and notice, and applicable taxes on the settlement fund and any other related tax expenses
• Money awards for class members for their service on behalf of the class members
• Attorneys’ fees and expenses

The amount paid from the settlement fund will be based on the person’s actual or estimated interchange fees attributable to Visa and Mastercard card transactions.

On May 14, 2024, the court granted an extension of the claims-filing deadline.

The deadline to submit claims is now August 30, 2024.

Class members have received a claim form in the mail and can file online using the claimant ID provided.

If you did not receive a claim form, you can start the claim filing process online and provide your taxpayer identification number.

If you exclude yourself from the settlement, you will not get a payment. Although, the deadline for exclusion has already passed.

Meanwhile, Americans can claim up to $8,500 from hefty data breach settlement.

And Americans can also claim payment worth $4,400 from $1.5m data breach settlement – the more proof, the more money you get.