Visa and MasterCard are the two largest global payment processors.A recent setback for both publicly traded firms occurred when an American judge ordered them to refund cardholders for a whopping $197 million.

Based on the information that is currently available, an American court ordered VISA and Mastercard to repay the money that was taken from their users’ and customers’ cards earlier this year under the premise of increased fees.

Visa and Mastercard users will receive a $1,797 direct payment soon

The US court ruled that the extra fees collected from customers by the two businesses were unlawful. According to sources, as part of the settlement, Mastercard will refund $92.8 million to cardholders and Visa will pay $104.6 million to customers.

Using a Visa or Mastercard to withdraw cash from an ATM in the United States incurs additional fees. According to the court’s decision, the additional fee was illegal, and Visa and Mastercard were ordered to reimburse the money.

The $197 million settlement covers cash withdrawals from bank-run ATMs since 2007. It is important to note that not all Mastercard and Visa customers will receive a refund. There are two conditions for receiving a refund:

• Between October 1, 2007, and July 26, 2024, cardholders who used a Visa or Mastercard debit card at an ATM in the United States paid a non-refundable surcharge.
• Banks like JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, or Bank of America that are part of the VISA or Mastercard ATM network are required to levy fees.

According to the information provided, Visa charges the card issuer based on the card’s volume or for each transaction. Mastercard charges card-issuing institutions based on their percentage of global dollar volume, which includes all card transactions in a given period.

Which steps should users follow to request claims regarding their payments?

Beneficiaries can request reimbursement by visiting the official class action website, filling out the online form, or downloading and submitting it to ATM Surcharge Settlement.

Provide your contact information and sign an oath stating that you paid excessive surcharges, as this document is legally binding and must be correct. Even if you do not have to provide any documents right away, the claims administrator may ask for additional proof later on.

Consumers who want to receive Visa and Mastercard settlement payments should be aware of some key dates. First, the claim filing deadline was set for January 22nd, with the final hearing to finalize the settlement taking place on January 24th. Remember that in order to be eligible for the refund, you must submit your application by the deadline.

The US has accused Visa of debit card monopoly

Visa is being sued in the United States for allegedly illegally suppressing competition in order to maintain its monopoly on the debit card market.

Visa was accused of penalizing businesses for using alternative payment networks and bribing competitors to maintain its market dominance.

The Department of Justice argues that the actions have stifled innovation and increased costs for American businesses and consumers.

The action against Visa is the most recent brought by the Biden administration, which has addressed monopolistic issues—known as antitrust in the United States—more aggressively than previous administrations.

In other parts of the world, including Europe and Australia, the company’s activities have been the subject of lawsuits and investigations by competition authorities and merchants.

According to the complaint, the company processes over 60% of debit transactions in the US and earns $7 billion in fees each year. In terms of revenue, the debit card division outperformed the credit card division in 2022 and was extremely profitable.

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