Visa and Mastercard Interchange Fee Settlement: Where Payouts Stand

Businesses that accepted Visa or Mastercard have so far been paid roughly $414 million from the multibillion-dollar class action resolving disputes with the card networks, according to a filing last week from the claims administrator.

About 598,000 merchants have received money, with approximately $4.1 million still pending from the first partial distribution of the $5.5 billion fund, Epiq reported in a May 26 federal court submission.

Second Distribution Request and Case Timeline

Plaintiffs have asked U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn, New York, to authorize a second round of disbursements. The damages settlement was reached in 2018 and received final approval the following year, after which appeals followed.

The deal partially resolved a long-running antitrust case alleging the two network giants set excessive interchange fees on credit and debit transactions. The settlement was intended to compensate merchants for alleged overcharges tied to interchange fees during the covered period.

• U.S. merchants who accepted Visa or Mastercard-branded cards
• Transactions between Jan. 1, 2004 and Jan. 25, 2019

Businesses that no longer operate or that have changed ownership can still be part of the class if their claim can be matched to the underlying merchant data and they are not excluded by the class definition or later court rulings.

If Cogan agrees, the next payout would total at least $182 million for roughly 84,000 claimants, the filing states. He approved the first distribution in October 2025.

Any timing for additional checks or electronic payments depends on when the court authorizes a distribution and how quickly the administrator can complete final validation steps; payments for undisputed, fully matched claims generally follow after that, while claims in dispute can take longer.

Claim Outreach and How to File Claims

Claim forms were mailed to about 18.6 million merchants, with a Feb. 4, 2025 deadline to file claims. Late submissions are typically not accepted absent a court-approved exception or other direction in the administration process.

The slow cadence of payments has frustrated some class members; the initial checks were issued about four months ago—roughly a year after the claims deadline.

Large interchange settlements can move slowly because administrators must reconcile merchant identities across multiple processors, screen for duplicate or fraudulent filings, and resolve data mismatches before money can be released.

For merchants that are eligible and have not already filed, the claims process generally involves: confirming the merchant’s legal name and any “doing business as” names used during the covered period; locating the settlement notice or claim identifier; completing the claim form with business and payment details; and submitting it through the official Epiq settlement portal or by using the submission method provided on the mailed notice. Claimants who no longer have access to old mailings typically must contact the claims administrator to retrieve the correct claim record before submitting.

Claimants are commonly asked to provide business-identifying information so the submission can be matched to card-acceptance data, such as the merchant’s legal entity name, addresses used during the period, tax identification information, and any relevant processor or merchant account identifiers. Supporting documentation is not always required at the time of filing, but it may be requested if information cannot be verified or if there are inconsistencies.

If requested proof is missing or incomplete, the submission can be flagged as noncompliant, delayed for follow-up, or denied unless the claimant cures the deficiency in the timeframe allowed by the administrator’s review process.

To check claim status, merchants typically use the claim-status tool or instructions on the official settlement website operated by Epiq, or contact Epiq using the phone or email listed on the settlement notice. Status updates can vary depending on whether the claim is straightforward or has moved into an audit, mismatch review, or dispute track.

“If paying the simplest claims took a full year, how long will it take to process the more complex claims excluded from the first payout?” Cascade Settlement Services asked in a Feb. 26 motion.

Cascade, a legal services provider that assists class members and, in some cases, buys claims, says it has acquired the claims of hundreds of merchants seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in interchange fees.

“Roughly $1.5 billion remains idle in the fund with no public timeline for release,” the California-based firm’s attorney argued.

Cascade urged the court to order Epiq “to provide detailed public monthly reports outlining progress, bottlenecks, and the expected timeline for claims administration.”

Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo denied Cascade’s request after a hearing last week, but directed the parties to confer about “periodic public reporting by Epiq” and to update the court this week if they reach an agreement.

Cascade’s counsel, Kassra Nassiri, did not respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Alexandra “Xan” Bernay of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd in San Diego also did not respond Tuesday. Two Epiq executives, including Loree Kovach, the senior vice president overseeing the Visa–Mastercard claims process, did not return multiple messages.

Payment Calculations and First-Round Exclusions

Under the plan, each merchant’s recovery equals its pro rata share of the fund, tied to Visa interchange paid relative to the total paid by all class members, the class attorneys said in a May 27 filing supporting a second distribution.

• 96,000 merchants excluded due to name discrepancies
• 75,000 merchants cleared after audit (claims valued at $125 million)
• 8,400 merchants approved after tax ID review (claims valued at $56.2 million)

Beyond the resolved items, more than 500,000 merchant claims are still in a multi-step dispute process over fee payments, Cascade contended, adding that the class and the court lack visibility into Epiq’s internal backlog.

Appeals, Reserves, and Special Master Reappointment

Administrators have reserved about $3.35 billion pending the outcomes of two separate lawsuits involving putative class members.

One dispute concerns a California salon owner and others who paid fees through Block’s Square processing product—specifically, whether the merchants themselves paid interchange or Block did. The merchants assert Block merely passed through the cost.

The other involves gasoline retailers who sued under state antitrust laws, arguing they are not in the federal class because their branded fuel suppliers paid the interchange.

The networks prevailed in both matters at the district court and again last month at the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Plaintiffs in those cases are seeking full appellate review and may petition the Supreme Court, according to the settlement plaintiffs’ filing.

While those appeals remain unresolved and funds are held back accordingly, plaintiffs told Cogan it serves the class to proceed with a second partial payout to claimants whose eligibility is now certain.

Separately, on Monday Cogan reappointed a special master for another two-year term to help address disputes and other claim issues. The court reappointed James Orenstein, a retired magistrate judge, to continue the role he began in September 2024.