Mastercard and VISA are facing a claim worth over £4 billion being brought by a Class Representative on behalf of businesses across the UK, including hospitality and catering businesses that accept corporate cards.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has given the go-ahead for the collective action that could see businesses compensated for the unlawful multilateral interchange fees (“MIFs”) set by Mastercard and VISA that applied to transactions involving commercial cards in the UK.
The claim alleges that businesses that received commercial cards payments paid fees much higher than they should have been, causing them significant losses. The claim period runs from June 2016 to June 2022, with damages continuing to accrue until the date of judgment or settlement.
A deadline for involvement in these claims has been set by the Tribunal and businesses are encouraged to register their interest now on the claim website to stay updated on developments and, if successful, to claim their share of any damages awarded.
Responding to the Tribunal’s judgment, Jeremy Robinson, a partner at Harcus Parker Limited, representing the Class Representatives said: “We welcome the opportunity to hold Mastercard and VISA to account for imposing multilateral interchange fees at an unlawfully high level and causing substantial loss to UK businesses.”
Stephen Allen, the director of the Class Representatives added: “UK businesses in the hospitality and catering sectors have been particularly hurt by Mastercard’s and Visa’s multilateral interchange fees and we are delighted that this claim has been endorsed by leading trade bodies including UK Hospitality.”
If you know your business receives payment by commercial cards, or you would like to find out if it does visit the claims website today here.
Hospitality’s class action against Visa and Mastercard set out simply
