Mastercard and Visa settle ATM lawsuit with thousands set for payouts

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 settlement, filed in federal court in Washington, will potentially provide payouts to millions of ATM users who were charged unreimbursed fees for withdrawing cash from independent, non-bank ATMs. Visa will contribute approximately $88.8 million, and Mastercard around $78.7 million, to a settlement fund. Both companies maintain they have not engaged in any wrongdoing.

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2011, challenged industry rules that allegedly prevented independent ATM operators from offering lower prices to consumers. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs consider the settlement a positive outcome, given the risks associated with continued litigation. They intend to request legal fees amounting to up to 30% of the settlement fund, approximately $50 million.

A separate, related lawsuit brought by independent ATM owners and operators is still pending in the same court. Separately, Vocalink, a Mastercard-owned company, was recently fined £11.9 million by the Bank of England for failing to meet risk management and governance requirements, though the firm stated the issues were internal and did not affect consumers.

(Source：Birmingham Live)