Canadian Credit Card Class Actions
If you accepted VISA and Mastercard credit cards between March 23, 2001, and September 2, 2021, you may be eligible to receive money from the class actions settlements.
What is this Class Action about?
Class actions were started in Canada claiming certain banks and Visa and Mastercard (the “Defendants”) conspired to set higher interchange fees and to impose rules restricting merchants’ ability to surcharge or refuse higher cost Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
“Interchange Fees” are fees paid by merchants and collected by banks for transactions involving Visa and/or Mastercard credit cards in Canada.
Settlements totaling $188 CAD million were reached with Capital One, Citigroup, Bank of America, Desjardins, National Bank, Visa, Mastercard, CIBC, Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal, TD Bank, and Bank of Nova Scotia. Additionally, Visa and Mastercard have agreed to modify their no-surcharge rules to allow merchants to surcharge up to a cap, and to ensure this ability to surcharge remains in effect for a minimum of five years.
The settlements have received court approval, and there is a total of $131 CAD million in compensation available for distribution to class members after court-approved deductions (the “Net Settlement Amount”). The Defendants do not admit any wrongdoing or liability. The settlements resolve the class actions.
Who can receive payment under this Class Action?
Settlement Class Members who accepted payments by Visa or Mastercard credit cards as payments for goods or services in Canada between March 23, 2001, and September 2, 2021.
In order to participate in the Settlement, a Class Member had to submit a claim.
The deadline to submit a claim was December 30, 2022.
When will approved claimants receive payment?
The review of all claims is now complete and all final decision letters have been issued. Please refer to the final decision letter for the Claims Administrator’s final decision of your claim.
We appreciate your patience throughout the processing of all submitted claims.
Approved Undocumented claims were issued payments in phases between June 2023 and October 2024.
| Phase | Date |
|---|---|
| 1 | June 16, 2023 |
| 2 | September 22, 2023 |
| 3 | November 24, 2023 |
| 4 | June 14, 2024 |
| 5 | September 25, 2024 |
| 6 | October 18, 2024 |
Simplified Claims
We have not yet issued any payments for approved Simplified claims. We anticipate that payments will be issued in early 2025, subject to Court approval.
Once Court approval has been received, we will update this message. We invite you to visit this website periodically for further updates regarding timing of Simplified claim payments.
Documented Claims
We have not yet issued any payments for approved Documented claims. We anticipate that payments will be issued in early 2025, subject to Court approval.
Once Court approval has been received, we will update this message. We invite you to visit this website periodically for further updates regarding timing of Documented claim payments.
How will the Settlement Funds be distributed?
The Net Settlement Amount will be divided into three (3) funds. Settlement Class Members will be paid from the fund that corresponds to their average yearly revenue:
| Merchant Fund | Amount of Net Settlement Amount Allocated |
|---|---|
Small Merchant Fund Settlement Class Members who collect less than $5 million in average yearly revenue over the Class Period | 40% |
Medium Merchant Fund Settlement Class Members who collect $5 million to $20 million in average yearly revenue over the Class Period | 10% |
Large Merchant Fund Settlement Class Members who collect more than $20 million in average yearly revenue over the Class Period | 50% |
The Class Period is March 23, 2001 – September 2, 2021.
The courts approved a distribution plan for distributing the Net Settlement Amount. A copy of the distribution plan is available here.
How much money will Settlement Class Members get?
| TYPE OF MERCHANT | ANNUAL AVERAGE REVENUE OVER THE CLASS PERIOD (CAD) | CLAIM OPTIONS | PER YEAR CLAIM AMOUNT (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Merchant | Less than $5 million | Undocumented | $30 |
| Medium Merchant | Between $5 million and $20 million | Simplified | $250 |
| Large Merchant | More than $20 million | Simplified | $250 |
| Documented | Proportional share of Large Merchant fund (to be determined once all claims are submitted) |
For more information, please click here.
Summary of your legal rights and options
Submit a Claim | The only way to receive a payment under the Settlement was to submit a claim. The deadline to submit a claim was on December 30, 2022. |
|---|---|
Do Nothing | If you do nothing, you automatically remain a Class member (if you qualify) and are bound by this Settlement Agreement, and the releases in it and are entitled to share in any of the proceeds that is available to Merchants as part of those settlements. However, you will get no compensation if you do not submit a claim before the claims deadline. |
OBJECT to the Settlement | The deadline to object to the Settlement was December 5, 2021. |
OPT OUT of the Settlement | The deadline to opt out of the settlement was December 5, 2021. |