Visa and Mastercard reportedly facing multibillion-pound card fee suit
Payments titans Mastercard and Visa are reportedly facing a multibillion-pound competition lawsuit on behalf of UK firms.
Mastercard and Visa are reportedly facing a card fee competition lawsuit
The Competition Appeal Tribunal filing is expected to allege that Mastercard and Visa overcharged businesses for multilateral interchange fees (MIFs), which constitute as much as 90% of the cost of a company’s monthly bank charges.
According to Sky News, law firm Harcus Parker is set to file the claim, which it believes could be worth well over £10 billion, in what could be one of the biggest competition compensation claims in UK history.
The suit will allege that MIFs, which banks must pay to participate in the firms’ card schemes, are set by Mastercard and Visa, rather than by the free market.
Businesses with an average annual pre-pandemic turnover of at least £100 million will be invited to opt into the claim.
Firms with revenue below £100 million and which have registered online will be automatically included unless they opt out.
Harcus Parker, which has determined a claim window from 2017 to the date of judgement award or settlement, believes £7.5 billion was the minimum figure they expected, but could ultimately be close to double that amount, Sky News reports.
