OFFICIAL WEBSITES:
English: www.CreditCardSettlements.ca
French: www.CreditCardSettlements.ca
The Credit Card Actions
Class action lawsuits were commenced in British Columbia (the “BC Action”), Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec (the “QC Action”) and Ontario (collectively, the “Credit Card Class Actions”) against Visa Canada Corporation (“Visa”), Mastercard International Incorporated (“Mastercard”) and certain banks which issue credit cards (“Issuing Banks”) alleging each of Visa and Mastercard conspired with their Issuing Banks and acquirers in setting the amount of interchange fees and imposing rules restricting merchants’ ability to surcharge or refuse higher cost Visa and Mastercard credit cards. The BC Action and the QC Action were certified/authorized as class proceedings.
Distribution of Net Settlement Proceeds– Make a CLAIM no later than 11:59 pm PST on September 30, 2022
Settlements totalling $131 million in net compensation have been reached with Visa, Mastercard, Bank of America, Citigroup, Capital One, Desjardins, National Bank, CIBC, Royal Bank, BMO, TD and Bank of Nova Scotia. The settled defendants do not admit any wrongdoing or liability. The BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Québec courts approved the settlements for distribution in Credit Card Interchange Fees Class Action.
Anyone who accepted Visa or Mastercard credit cards in Canada between March 23, 2001 and September 2, 2021 is eligible to claim settlement benefits.
Claims by small merchants with annual average revenue of less than $5 million do not require supporting documents. Subject to further court order, undocumented claims will be paid $30 for each year the merchant accepted credit cards from 2001 to 2021. There is also an opportunity for merchants with annual average revenue of $5 million or more to make claims with specified documentation. Claims can be filed online at www.CreditCardSettlements.ca on or before September 30, 2022.
For more details on how to make a claim, please review the Long Form Notice re Claims Process under Important Documents below, or visit the official website at www.CreditCardSettlements.ca.
Important Documents:
- Distribution Plan (English) (French)
- Long Form Notice re Claims Process [English] [French]
- Reasons approving the New Settlement and Distribution Plan (BC) (AB) (SK) (ON) (QC)
- Reasons re: Application to Approve National Bank, Visa and MasterCard Settlement Agreements (Quebec) – 13 November 2018
- Reasons re: Defendants’ Application for Additional Class Member Production – 31 May 2018
- Reasons re: Application to Approve National Bank, Visa and Mastercard Settlement Agreements (British Columbia) – 13 July 2018
- Reasons for Judgment re: Certification – British Columbia Court of Appeal
- Filed Second Amended Notice of Civil Claim – 01 June 2017
For more information please contact Conall Kelly, Paralegal at (604) 654-2961 or by email at ckelly@branmac.com. We also encourage you to go to the official website for this Credit Card Class Action at creditcardsettlements.ca.