VISA-MC Settlement | Accelerated Retention

Claim Your Share of the $5.5 Billion Visa/MC Settlement (VMC)

If your business accepted Visa or Mastercard between 2004 and 2019, you may be eligible to claim your share of a $5.5 billion settlement.

Update: The court granted an extension for filing a claim to this settlement. The new deadline for submitting a claim is Tuesday, February 04,2025

What Does it Take to be a Candidate for the Visa/MC Settlement?

Can you say “Yes” to both these two questions?

Did you accept payments through credit or debit cards anytime between Jan 2004 and Jan 2019?

Are you an officer in the company, or someone authorized to represent the company?

If you said, “Yes”, to both then you are a good candidate!

Here are a few more key points about the Visa/MC Settlement.

Your business does not need to currently be in operation

We help take care of documentation or research that may be required.

Begin by Providing Business name, EIN, and address.

The payout date will be determined after all claims have been calculated.

Deadline Extended to February 04, 2025.

Basics and Background to This Lawsuit and Settlement

This settlement stems from years-long lawsuit that is based on interchange fees for merchants who accepted Visa or Mastercard cards (both credit or debit) between January 1, 2004, and January 25, 2019. The Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs allege that Visa, Mastercard, and their member banks set interchange fees and enforced rules limiting merchants from steering customers to other payment methods, insulating them from competitive pressure to lower these fees. The Defendants deny these allegations, claiming their practices are legal and beneficial to merchants and consumers.

This is an interchange fee.

The interchange fee is one of multiple fees associated with the processing of credit cards. It typically ranges from 1-2% of the purchase made by the customer. This is a fee paid by the merchant (you) for using Visa or Mastercard.

What is the total amount put into this settlement?

Approximately $5.54 billion was paid into this settlement and is earmarked for merchants that did not exclude themselves from the Settlement Class. This $5.54 billion will also be applied to administration costs, attorneys’ fees, notification costs, and other service awards.

Frequently Asked Questions
– with Concise Answers

How much will I get back in this settlement?

You will receive a portion of the $5.5 Billion and that is based on the total dollar amount of claims filed. The claim is based on the Interchange fees you paid to Visa/Mastercard between January 1, 2004, and January 25, 2019.

When will the payments be sent out?

The deadline to file is February 4, 2025 and the payments will go out after that. The Class Administrator will finalize calculations after the deadline to determine how much each claimant will receive.

Can I submit a claim on my own?

Absolutely. Class members need not sign up for a third-party service to participate in any monetary relief and no-cost assistance will be provided from the Class Administrator and Class Counsel during the claims-filing period. For further information, please visit paymentcardsettlement.com.

When is the deadline for submitting a claim?

February 4, 2025

Does my business still need to be active?

No, if you were in business anytime between January 1, 2004, and January 25, 2019 and you accepted Visa or Mastercard for payments, you can submit a claim.

What happens once a claim is submitted?

We will submit your business information to the Class Administrator, and they will review it and calculate your Total Volume and Interchange Fees. Once we receive that information we will notify you with the numbers. If you agree with the numbers no further action is required on your part. If you feel the numbers are incorrect, please contact us and we will assist you with submitting additional information to the Class Administrator.

Class members need not sign up for a third-party service in order to participate in any monetary relief and no-cost assistance will be provided from the Class Administrator and Class Counsel during the claims-filing period. For further information please visit paymentcardsettlement.com

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ARI phone number: 602.715.2120

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