Lawsuit Targets Card Fees
Visa and Mastercard are facing a potential £5bn lawsuit over allegations of stifling competition and charging UK businesses excessive multilateral interchange fees since October 2020. Law firms Harcus Parker and Hausfeld lodged an application at the Competition Appeal Tribunal to pursue the group claim. The case centres on interchange fees set by the card networks and paid by businesses through their banks whenever customers pay by card. Sources close to the claim estimate it could be worth about £5bn, covering fees charged over the past six years alongside interest.
Participation and Industry Response
If the application succeeds, approximately one million UK-based businesses, organisations, and charities with revenues under £100m will be automatically included unless they opt out, with potential individual compensation worth thousands of pounds. Larger businesses would need to opt in actively. The case is funded by Bench Walk Advisors and led by Stephen Allen. Mastercard criticized the action as speculative and part of a trend of opportunistic funder-backed litigation, defending interchange as vital for the payments ecosystem. A Visa spokesperson similarly stated that interchange is a critical component for maintaining a secure digital payments ecosystem.