The Card Interchange Fee Class Action – Summary
The Visa / Mastercard Interchange Class Action relates to a Class Action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, titled: In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, case number 05-MDL-1720 (MKB) (JO) (the “Class Action”).
The plaintiffs in the Litigation are businesses that accepted Visa-Branded and/or Mastercard-Branded card payments in the United States between January 1, 2004 and January 25, 2019 (the “Class Period”).
The plaintiffs have alleged that Interchange fees attributable to these transactions have violated the law because they were wrongfully inflated. Visa, Mastercard and their issuing banks (“Defendants”) maintain that they have done nothing wrong and that their business practices are legal. Plaintiffs will have a claim on any final settlement amount based on the amount of Interchange Fees paid during the class period.
About Clearwater Recovery Partners LLP
Clearwater is a firm that specialises in helping its customers improve liquidity by monetising (purchasing for cash) any assets they own that typically are of uncertain value and hard to transact due to a lack of a clear market or buyers.
As well as purchasing interests in ongoing litigations such as this, Clearwater also focusses on other esoteric assets such as US Bankruptcy Claims, Global Insolvency Claims as well as Liquidating Fund Interests and Delisted Securities.
Clearwater is an independent company and does not represent any of the parties in the Class Action, the Court or the Class Administrator. Our offer to purchase your claim is not endorsed by any party in the Class Action or by the Court or Class Administrator.
Clearwater Has contacted a number of plaintiffs in the Class Action with an upfront cash offer to purchase their claims in the Class Action. We have made this offer (based on public information and our own research) to merchants who we believe have a claim in the Class Action, and who would benefit from the opportunity to receive a known cash amount today rather than waiting for an unknown payment at an unknown date in the future.
Selling an Interchange Claim
Clearwater’s offer to purchase your claim is based on the amount of interchange fees you paid in the Class Period.
The total interchange fee you have paid will have been disclosed to you in correspondence from the Class Administrator.
If you have received (and retained) the Interchange Fee Correspondence Letter from the Class Administrator
The process is as follows:
- We would ask you to provide Clearwater with a scanned copy of the Fee Correspondence Letter either by uploading it using the “Sell My Claim Now” form at the bottom of this page, or by email to [email protected]
- Clearwater will send you a formal offer detailing the cash purchase price, as well as a claim purchase and transfer agreement.
- Post execution of the agreements, Clearwater will submit the claim transfer request to the Class Administrator
- Clearwater will wire you the agreed purchase price upon confirmation of the claim transfer from the Class Administrator
If you have not received (or retained) the Fee Correspondence Letter from the Class Administrator
Do not worry, this does not necessarily mean you do not have a valid claim. Clearwater can help determine if you have a claim to sell as follows:
- Clearwater will provide you with a written authorisation document for signature, which will then allow us to request Interchange Fee data from the Class Administrator on your behalf.
- Clearwater will provide you with the details of any Interchange Fees you have paid, along with a formal offer detailing the cash purchase price, as well as a claim purchase and transfer agreement.
- Post execution of the agreements, Clearwater will submit the claim transfer request to the Class Administrator.
- Clearwater will wire the Seller the agreed purchase price upon confirmation of the claim transfer from the Class Administrator.
Expiration of the Offer
There is no explicit time-limit on this offer, however we have a limit on the funds we can allocated to this case. This offer is therefore on a first-come, first-served basis, and Clearwater Recovery Partners LLP retains the right to refuse to purchase any claim for any reason. If you are considering selling your claim, please do not delay in getting in touch with us.
Further Information
Further useful information can be found on the official court authorised settlement website’s “frequently asked questions” section which can be found here: https://www.paymentcardsettlement.com/en/Home/FAQ#faq9D
Sell your Interchange Claim Now
Please fill out the form below and a member of the Clearwater team will contact you shortly.