"Visa and Mastercard have agreed to pay $167.5 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit. The suit, which was first filed back in Oct. 2011, accused the two major credit card companies of conspiring to keep ATM fees artificially high. The proposed settlement, filed on Thursday in Washington, if approved, it will mean an end to "almost fourteen years of vigorously contested litigation." The lawsuit alleged that both companies "participated in an unlawful conspiracy" involving Visa and Mastercard blocking independent ATM operators from offering lower prices."
"If approved, the settlement will have Visa and Mastercard pay millions to ATM users who say they were charged an unreimbursed access fee to withdraw cash from independent, non-bank ATMs. Per a Guardian report, Visa is set to pay 53% of the settlement, $88.8 million, while Mastercard will contribute 47%, or $78.7 million. In the settlement, attorneys for the plaintiffs called the settlement "an excellent result in light of the risks of continued prosecution.""
Visa and Mastercard agreed to pay $167.5 million to settle a class action accusing them of conspiring to keep ATM fees artificially high. The suit was first filed in October 2011 and alleged the companies blocked independent ATM operators from offering lower prices. If approved, the settlement will distribute millions to ATM users who say they paid unreimbursed access fees at independent, non-bank ATMs. Visa will pay $88.8 million (53%) and Mastercard $78.7 million (47%). Related payouts include $197.5 million for bank-operated ATM claims and a 2021 $66 million settlement by major banks. A separate suit by independent ATM owners remains pending.
Read at Fast Company
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