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Small and medium-sized merchants who missed the September 30 deadline for submit complaints in a class action settlement involving Visa Canada Corp. and Mastercard International Inc. now have until the end of the year to file a claim.
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Submissions for Undocumented and Simplified Claims reopened last week and the deadline for all claim types is now December 30. The claim deadline for large merchants has also been extended until the end of the year.
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The lawsuit alleged that Visa and Mastercard conspired with certain banks and processors to fix the amount of credit card processing fees, called interchange fees, charged to retailers. Those involved have admitted no wrongdoing or liability in connection with the settlement, which included $188 million in payments from banks and credit card companies.
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The lawsuit also alleged that the parties conspired to impose rules restricting merchants’ ability to overcharge customers or refuse more expensive credit cards. New overload the rules went into effect earlier this month as part of the settlement.
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A total of $131 million in compensation is available for distribution to class members after court-approved deductions.
This amount will be divided between small, medium and large traders, corresponding to their average annual income.
Merchants eligible to receive settlement money must have accepted VISA and Mastercard credit cards between March 23, 2001 and September 2, 2021.
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Small merchants, defined as having an average annual revenue of less than $5 million over that period, can claim $30 per year or a maximum of $600 over 20 years.
Medium and large merchants who file simplified claims can receive $250 per year or a maximum of $5,000 over the period. Meanwhile, large merchants submitting documented claims will receive a proportional share of the “large merchant fund,” which will be determined once all claims are submitted.
Claim decisions will not be sent out before the deadline and no claims are expected to be paid until next year.
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