Visa and Mastercard customers can get cash from $197.5m surcharge settlement – qualifying depends on your ATM use
Visa and Mastercard reached a $197.5 million settlement over surcharges, which means that Americans will receive some free money.
Depending on how often they use ATMs, customers may be able to claim the millions of dollars in settlement fees that the two credit card firms owe.
Among the biggest international providers of payment card services worldwide are Visa and MasterCard.
According to this settlement website, the two businesses are in hot water for allegedly breaking federal consumer protection rules by inflating ATM fees and surcharges.
Credit card users who used their Visa or Mastercard debit cards to withdraw cash from ATMs were subject to exorbitant surcharges or “interchange” swipe fees as a result of the illegal actions.
The class action suit also claims that the two companies overcharged retailers for taking credit and debit card payments.
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The $197.5 million class action settlement is still open for claims, despite the fact that Visa and Mastercard have not acknowledged any wrongdoing and the court has not reached a final ruling.
Mastercard would provide $92.8 million to the settlement fund, while Visa agreed to contribute $104.6 million.
Large US banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, were previously involved in an ATM fee settlement that paid out more than $66 million.
ARE YOU ELIGIBLE?
The $197.5 million class action settlement includes eligible class members who, between October 1, 2007, and July 26, 2024, paid a premium to withdraw cash from a US ATM.
Banks that are or were part of the Visa and/or Mastercard ATM networks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, required cardholders to pay an unreimbursed ATM access fee.
The settlement excludes Americans who have previously received reimbursement for surcharged ATM transactions and those who have surcharged purchases made using cards issued by non-US financial institutions.
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money from the new settlement will be automatically available to customers who have already submitted a claim and received money from the prior settlement.
If someone wants to claim the extra transactions, they must file a new claim form if they paid more ATM surcharges after filing a claim in the last settlement.
Customers using Visa and Mastercard who haven’t filed a claim before are required to do so in order to get reimbursement from the surcharge settlement.
A proper claim form must be submitted by January 22, 2025.
The number of class members who file a claim will determine how much of the $197.5 million settlement is paid out.
When submitting a claim under the settlement, consumers are not asked to submit any supporting paperwork.
The official administrator of the ATM class action claims, however, could later request more supporting data.
Customers must certify under oath on the claim form that they paid excessive and illegal ATM surcharges.
January 24, 2025 is the date of the ATM fee settlement’s final approval hearing.
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How to file a claim
There are two methods to submit a claim if you think you qualify for a share of the Visa and Mastercard settlement.
Online claim submission is the simplest and most practical method.
To begin completing your claim form, follow this link: https://atmclassaction.com/Claims/Create
A blank copy of the Claim Form is also available for download online.
You will be prompted with a number of questions about your ATM surcharges after providing your contact details in the form.
After that, you’ll be asked to sign your document and add the date.
The Claim Form can then be mailed to:
Settlement for ATM Surcharge P.O. Box 170500 Milwaukee, WI 53217
A $9 million “convenience fee” settlement also gives some moviegoers the right to a one-time payout.
Plus, as part of a $4.1 million privacy settlement, Americans will receive a payment for up to $401.
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