If Your Small Business Accepts Visa/Mastercard You May Qualify For A Payout From A $5.5B Settlement – Essence
You may be able to get a piece of a landmark $5.5B antitrust settlement against Visa/Mastercard.
A long-going class action was levied and won involving the payment card companies after they were accused of inflating merchant fees against businesses. The deadline for business owners to submit a claim to participate in the settlement has been extended to Feb. 4, 2025 per a news release.
“Class Counsel is happy to share this good news with merchants who accepted Visa and Mastercard during the class period and haven’t yet claimed their share of the Settlement,” noted Alexandra “Xan” Bernay, partner at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, and one of three Co-Lead Counsel firms on the case. “Businesses will now be able to submit a claim until February 4, 2025 in this truly huge settlement. This extension ensures that as many eligible merchants as possible can rightfully claim their share.”
The 19-year legal battle has left some merchants discouraged, but the deadline extension is a step in the right direction to return money to small and independently owned businesses per the news release.
“We have seen some skepticism from merchants and heard from merchants who unfortunately had inadvertently recycled their mailed claim form,” Alexandra “Xan” Bernay, one of the co-lead counsel for the class of merchants told Payments Dive. “Fortunately, the education and outreach team have helped us reach merchant populations that may have originally been unlikely to file.”
THE REQUIREMENTS
Per PaymentCardSettlement.com, any size business that accepted Visa and/or Mastercard credit or debit cards in the U.S. between Jan. 1, 2004 and Jan. 25, 2019 may be eligible.
How do I file a claim?
Claims can be submitted online at PaymentCardSettlement.com by mail. Prospective participants can also without a claim form can visit the claims portal, use a TIN to confirm their identity and authorization.
What is the payout amount?
While there is no set return payment amount, it has been reported that the value of all eligible payment card transactions and the number of claims received will be factored in.
