Canadian retailers eligible for settlement in credit card class action

A class action lawsuit that was recently settled claimed certain banks and Visa and Mastercard conspired to set higher interchange fees and to impose rules restricting merchants’ ability to surcharge or refuse higher cost (premium) Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

If your business accepted Visa and/or Mastercard credit cards as payment at any point since March 23, 2001, you could be eligible to receive a portion of a multi-million-dollar settlement. Applications for rebates, which range from $30 a year for small merchants ($5 million dollars in annual revenue) and $250 for larger merchants (greater than $20 million dollars in annual revenue) are available until September 30, 2022.

To make a claim, you will need to provide the size of your business/annual revenues during the claim period and an attestation that your business collected credit card payments at some point since March 23, 2001.

Once your claim is submitted, the following will occur:
• You will receive confirmation that it was submitted successfully;
• Your claim will be reviewed and either approved or denied;
• If your claim is approved, you can expect your funds before the end of 2022 either by direct deposit or cheque;
• If your claim is denied, there is no appeal process, but you can speak to the claim administrator.
RCC remains active in matters regarding credit card fees imposed on small business members, including through a “Credit Card Surcharging” webinar on August 25, 2022.