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.

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 FundAmount 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 MerchantLess than $5 million Undocumented$30
Medium MerchantBetween $5 million and $20 million Simplified$250
Large MerchantMore than $20 million Simplified $250
DocumentedProportional 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.