London Tribunal Allows Collective Lawsuits Against Visa And MasterCard Over Merchant Fees

London Tribunal Allows Collective Lawsuits Against Visa And MasterCard Over Merchant Fees

A London Tribunal Ruled on Friday that global Payments Processors Visa and Mastercard must face a new series of lawsuits concerning fees levied on retailers, allowing collective cases brought on behalf of merchants to proceed.

Both companies are already contending with numerous lawsuits in London related to Multilateral Interchange Fees, which retailers incur when Consumers use Cards for Purchases.

At London's Competition Appeal Tribunal, Visa and Mastercard are each Facing Litigation from hundreds of claimants, with the cases being Managed Collectively.

In 2022, the Special Purpose Vehicle Commercial and Interregional Card Claims initiated another round of lawsuits against Visa and Mastercard, seeking damages for allegedly overcharged merchants.

Initially, the Tribunal declined to certify its cases under the United Kingdom's collective proceedings regime, akin to class actions in the United States.

However, on Friday, the Tribunal Ruled that the Cases would be Certified, Pending any Representations by other Parties with a Stake in the Cases.