Remaining Bank Defendants Reach Agreements, Add To Credit Card Settlements

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Credit Card Settlements Overview:

• WHO: Anyone who accepts or has accepted Visa credit cards and/or Mastercard credit cards as payment for goods or services and incurred merchant discount fees, including interchange fees, in Canada since March 23, 2001.
• WHY: Visa and Mastercard allegedly worked with their issuing banks and acquirers to set interchange fee amounts and restrict merchants’ ability to surcharge or refuse higher-cost Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
• WHERE: Nationwide

UPDATE:

• The Court approved this settlement Dec. 9, 2021.

A new $120 million settlement has been reached and a website has been established for Class Members in a group of cases known collectively as the Credit Card Class Actions. 

Plaintiffs in several lawsuits alleged Visa and Mastercard worked with their issuing banks and acquirers to set interchange fee amounts and restrict merchants’ ability to surcharge or refuse higher-cost Visa and Mastercard credit cards. 

The British Columbia and Quebec actions were certified as class actions.

The new proposed credit card settlement involves the final remaining defendants: Royal Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Montreal, Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Bank of Nova Scotia.

The previous credit card settlements, valued at nearly $69 million, involved Bank of America, Citigroup, Capital One, Desjardins, National Bank, Visa, and Mastercard

The net funds from those prior settlements have been held by Class Counsel, pending resolution of all remaining claims.

If the proposed settlement is approved, the Credit Card Class Actions will end, allowing funds from all the settlements to be distributed. About $145 million will be available for distribution, according to the settlement notice.

The Class includes anyone who accepts or has accepted Visa credit cards and/or Mastercard credit cards as payment for goods or services and incurred merchant discount fees, including interchange fees, in Canada since March 23, 2001.

Class Members may object to or opt out of the settlement before Dec. 5, 2021.

The claims process has not yet begun, but an informational website has been created. 

Class Members are encouraged to register to receive updates.

A final approval hearing in the last of the proposed credit card settlements is scheduled to take place Dec. 6, 2021.

Did you pay interchange fees on your credit cards to any of the settling defendants? Let us know what you think about the settlements in the comments section.

The plaintiffs and Class are represented by Luciana P. Brasil, Camp Fiorante Mathews Mogerman LLP, and Consumer Law Group Inc.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Judge Certifies BC Prepaid Cards Class; Settlement Reached Over Amex Prepaid Cards
• Ontario Court Approves Settlement With 4 Banks in FX Market Class Action
• Canadians Question Why Banks Are Raising Fees Amid Pandemic, Billion Dollar Profits
• Investors Cite Unethical, High Pressure Sales in TD Bank Class Action Lawsuit