Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement

Did your bridal store accept Visa or Mastercard branded cards between January 1, 2004 and January 25, 2019? If so, you are eligible to file a claim to the Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement (say that three times fast…), also known as the Visa Mastercard Settlement. See what this could mean for you if you took credit card bridal payments during this 15 year timeframe.

What is the Visa Mastercard Settlement?

The lawsuit claimed that merchants paid excessive fees to accept Visa and Mastercard cards because Visa and Mastercard, individually, and together with their respective member banks, violated the antitrust laws.

The Plaintiffs claimed Visa and Mastercard violated antitrust regulations by imposing high interchange fees on merchants and enforcing regulations that restricted merchants from directing customers to alternative payment methods, such as not allowing them to surcharge, discount, honor-all-cards, etc. Doing this insulated them from competitive pressure to lower the interchange fees . Learn more in the FAQ the Official Court-Authorized Settlement Website

The Defendants say they have done nothing wrong. They claim their business practices are legal, justified, the result of independent competition and have benefitted merchants and consumers

The final opinion was given by the Second Circuit court on March 15th 2023. They affirmed the District courts ruling of the over $5 billion settlement.

How do I file a claim?

If you are an eligible merchant you may have received a notice in the mail sometime in December 2023 or January 2024. Online claim forms have been available since December 1, 2023.

To recoup any potential funds from this settlement, you must file a valid claim by May 31, 2024. You can do this on the Official Court Authorized Settlement Website for FREE.

Don’t have a lot of time on your hands to monitor or manage a settlement claim? Our friends at Gravity Payments have a Recovery Service Team that can manage the claims process for any eligible business for 25% contingent fee . If you aren’t awarded funds from the settlement, Gravity will receive no compensation.

Interested in knowing more about the Gravity Recovery Service? Pop over to their website or fill out an inquiry form here.

Reminder: As an eligible merchant, you are not required to use a third-party recovery service. You can submit a claim on your own, at no cost to you with the Claims Administrator and lawyers representing the merchants as a class.