Visa, Mastercard to pay US$167.5 million in ATM user fee settlement

Visa and Mastercard have agreed to a $167.5 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to maintain artificially high ATM access fees. The proposed settlement, filed in federal court, requires judicial approval and would distribute funds to millions of ATM users who incurred unreimbursed access fees at independent, non-bank ATMs since October 2007. Visa will contribute approximately $88.8 million, while Mastercard will contribute around $78.7 million to the settlement fund.

This lawsuit, filed in 2011, challenged industry rules that allegedly prevented independent ATM operators from lowering prices. Both Visa and Mastercard maintain they did not engage in any wrongdoing. This settlement follows a previous $197.5 million agreement to resolve claims from users overcharged at bank-operated ATMs and a $66 million settlement with several banks.

Plaintiffs' attorneys have hailed the settlement as a positive outcome, seeking up to 30% of the fund—approximately $50 million—for legal fees. A separate lawsuit brought by independent ATM owners and operators remains pending, and Visa is also facing an antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. Justice Department regarding its alleged monopolization of the U.S. debit card market.

(Source：CP24 Toronto)