Canadian Credit Card Class Actions Settlement – Entitlements for Merchants

If you accepted Visa and/or Mastercard credit cards payments between March 23, 2001 and September 2, 2021, you may be eligible to receive money from certain class actions settlements. In order to receive your entitlement under the settlements, you must submit a claim before September 30, 2022.

Background on the Claim

Class actions were started in Canada claiming that certain banks, Visa, and Mastercard conspired to set higher interchange fees and to impose rules restricting merchants’ abilities to surcharge or refuse higher-cost Visa and/or Mastercard credit cards. Interchange fees are fees paid by merchants and collected by banks for transactions involving credit cards.

The settlement for these claims has received court approval, and there is a total of $131 million in compensation available for distribution to eligible class members.

Who can receive payment under these Class Actions?

Merchants who accepted payments by Visa and/or Mastercard credit cards as payments for goods or services in Canada between March 23, 2001, and September 2, 2021 (the “Class Period”) and incurred merchant discount fees, including interchange fees, are eligible to participate in the settlement (“Settlement Class Members”). The settlement payouts are broken into three groups of Settlement Class Members as listed below:

Small Merchants – If you collected less than $5 million in average yearly annual revenue by credit cards over the Class Period, you are considered a Small Merchant. You could be entitled to receive $30 a year for each year you accepted qualifying credit card payments, up to a maximum of $600. As a Small Merchant, you do not need to provide proof of your claim.
Medium Merchants – If you collected $5 million to $20 million in average yearly revenue by credit cards over the Class Period, you are considered a Medium Merchant. You could be entitled to receive $250 a year for each year you accepted qualifying credit card payments. As a Medium Merchant, you must provide proof of at least one agreement entered with an acquirer[1].
Large Merchants – If you collected more than $20 million in average yearly revenue by credit cards over the Class Period, you are considered a Large Merchant. A Large Merchant has the option of filing a simplified or documented claim.
Simplified Claim – To make a Simplified Claim, Large Merchants must provide proof of at least one agreement entered with an acquirer. Under this claim, you are eligible to receive $250 for each year you accepted Visa or Mastercard credit cards during the Class Period.
Documented Claim – To be eligible to receive more than $250 per year, Large Merchants must provide documents showing credit card sales volume or payment of interchange fees.

To Submit a Claim

If you would like to submit a claim online, we encourage you to do so by visiting the Canadian Credit Card Class Action Settlement Online Claim System, here. For information on other ways to submit a claim, please refer to the form here.

Disclaimer:

Please note that Sotos LLP is not associated with this class action and settlement. For additional information about this settlement visit www.creditcardsettlements.ca or direct your inquiries to info@CreditCardSettlements.ca.

[1] An acquirer, also known as a payment processor, is a financial institution that maintains a merchant’s account in order to accept credit cards.