Visa and Mastercard are preparing to pay a huge settlement to US bank customers over controversial ATMs.
The settlement will resolve allegations that the payments giants conspired with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and other unnamed lenders to artificially inflate ATM fees.
Specifically, Visa and Mastercard are accused of working with the banks to prevent other ATM payment networks from offering lower domestic rates. This would reduce competition and force people to pay higher fees when using ATMs that did not belong to their bank.
Plaintiffs say the alleged conspiracy violated federal antitrust laws designed to promote competition.
Direct notices of the settlement are now being sent to more than 100 million potential members of the class action lawsuit, including U.S. bank customers who paid unrefunded ATM fees at bank-operated ATMs between October 1, 2007 and July 26, 2024.
A final court approval on the settlement is expected at an upcoming hearing on January 23, and anyone who has not previously filed a claim in the case or who has additional ATM claims can do so here.
Last year, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America reached a settlement totaling $66.74 million to resolve their part in the lawsuit, without admitting wrongdoing.
The three banks were targeted because of their dominance in ATM transactions and their role in enforcing Visa and Mastercard’s non-discrimination rules (NDRs), which are said to have played a central role in preventing ATM operators from offering lower fees charge through competing networks.
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