WASHINGTON (AP) — Visa and Mastercard have agreed to pay a combined $167.5 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit that accused the payment giants of conspiring to keep ATM access fees artificially high for consumers, according to court filings.
The proposed settlement — filed last week in federal district court in Washington — would reimburse potentially millions of ATM users who were charged unreimbursed access fees when withdrawing cash from independent, non-bank ATMs. It still requires a judge’s approval before any payments are made, according to Reuters.
Under the deal, Visa would contribute about $88.8 million and Mastercard about $78.7 million to a settlement fund to be distributed to eligible cardholders with qualifying ATM transactions dating back to October 2007, the report stated.
Originally Filed in 2011
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2011, alleged that rules imposed by Visa and Mastercard prevented independent ATM operators from offering lower fees, effectively keeping costs elevated for consumers. Both companies denied any wrongdoing.
The case is one of three related lawsuits in the federal court in Washington. In a separate but connected matter last year, the two companies agreed to pay $197.5 million to settle claims by ATM users who said they were overcharged at bank-operated machines, Reuters further reported, adding that several major banks previously agreed in 2021 to pay $66 million to resolve similar allegations.
Lawyers Seeking $50 Million
The Guardian noted that attorneys for the plaintiffs, in court filings, called the settlement “an excellent result in light of the risks of continued prosecution,” and said they plan to ask the court to award them up to 30% of the fund — roughly $50 million — in legal fees.
A third case filed by independent ATM owners and operators remains pending in the same court, and could influence how ATM fee rules are structured in the future, the Guardian added.
