In what stands as one of the most significant antitrust settlements in U.S. history, Visa and Mastercard have agreed to a massive $5.54 billion class action payout. Businesses that accepted card payments between 2004 and 2019 may be eligible for refunds, some up to $2,000 or more. With over 550,000 claimants now under review, this settlement is a game-changer, especially for small to medium-sized businesses who unknowingly paid inflated fees for years.
Visa Mastercard Class Action Payment 2025
Swipe fees, something most business owners viewed as a routine part of processing payments, have now become the basis for a long-awaited refund. If your business accepted Visa or Mastercard transactions during the eligibility period, your transaction history might just earn you a substantial return. While the claim deadline of February 4, 2025, has passed, the process of reviewing and distributing payouts is currently underway. Here’s everything you need to know about the Visa-Mastercard Class Action Settlement and what’s next.
$5.4 Billion Visa-Mastercard Settlement – Overview
| Article Name | Visa Mastercard Class Action Payment |
| Total Fund | $5.4 Billion |
| Payout Per Person | $2000 |
| Country | USA |
| Website | paymentcardsettlement.com |
Visa- Mastercard Class Action Settlement Background
Let us first understand the whole background of the case, about how this particular lawsuit came into being. The lawsuit is the result of the long standing antitrust allegations against the Visa and Mastercard. The core of this particular lawsuit is excessive interchange fees charged by the card giants. The interchange fees is also known as the swipe fees which is charged to the merchants every time a customer pay using their debit or credit cards
In the lawsuit the plaintiffs argued that the payment giants were engaging in the Anti competitive practices which has led to the artificially inflated fees. Now in response to the lawsuit, both the companies decided to settle by offering a historic $5.54 billion settlement. The settlement aims to resolve all the claims, reimburse businesses that have suffered financially due to excessive swipe charges and to avoid a long litigation. The settlement comes as a beacon of justice for the various small and big businesses across the USA.
Eligibility for $5.4 Billion Class Action Settlement
So in order to ensure that the payout is distributed fairly, there are some guidelines or the eligibility criteria that a business needs to qualify in order to receive the Visa-Mastercard settlement payout. Below are some those guidelines:
- A business must have accepted the payments from Visa and/or Mastercard between January 1, 2004, and January 25, 2019.
- The business must be located in the country.
- You must have submitted the valid claim before the deadline on February 4, 2025.
Now, under this $5.4 Billion Visa – Mastercard settlement the claim administrator has identified a total of 550,000 businesses who are eligible to receive the claim. Now if you fall under this eligibility criteria and you have filed a valid claim before the deadline then soon you’ll start receiving your payments. However if you have missed the deadline then you have given up both the settlement payout and your right to sue the companies individually.
$5.4 Billion Visa – Mastercard Payout
All the eligible beneficiaries must be curious about how much money will they get under the Visa Mastercard $5.4 Billion Class Action Settlement. The refund that the businesses will be getting will directly depend on the volume of card transactions that a business is having.
- It is estimated that the smaller businesses will be receiving up to $2000 each.
- On the other hand the businesses with large volumes or are big retailers will be receiving much more as compared to others.
- There is no fixed final payout as it will be calculated proportionally based on the total transaction volume that one had during the eligibility period.
The compensation claim from every business will be verified and determined by the settlement administrator. One thing to note is that the refunds will not be equal all across the board depending on your transactions you can receive more or less than $2000.
Visa – Mastercard Settlement Claim Process
As we have already discussed, the deadline to file a valid claim was on February 4, 2025 and it has already ended. However, we will still discuss the whole application process so that you can check whether you have filed your claim right or not.
- There are two different ways to file a valid $5.4 Billion Visa Mastercard Settlement Claim. You can either fill it online from the official settlement website or download the form and send it through the paper mail.
- Now in order to file a valid claim it is important that you provide valid documentation that supports your claim. Now the proof can include things like financial records, merchant statements, or any proof of Visa/Mastercard transaction volume from 2004 to 2019.
- Once you have filed the claim form you’ll be provided with a claim id that you use to track or verify your whole claim.
Currently the window to file a claim has already been closed which means that now new claims are being accepted. Currently the settlement administrator is verifying all the valid claims.
Visa – Mastercard Class Action Payment Status
Currently the whole $5.4 Billion Visa – Mastercard Settlement is in the claim verification process where the claim administrator is in the process of verifying and checking all the submissions. They are looking for duplicate filings, incomplete documentation and any fraudulent claims. So once all the claims have been verified the payments will start to come. Currently we have no official update regarding when we can see claim payments but it is expected to come any time in the late 2025.
So this is the $5.4 Billion Visa Mastercard Settlement that you have been eagerly waiting for. It is justice for the business owners as it aims at compensating them for the years of excessive transaction fees charged by the card giants. With over 550,000 businesses eligible and some receiving up to $2,000, this payout has the potential to offer meaningful financial relief, especially for small enterprises.
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