Visa and MasterCard users: you’re in luck. Recently, the US courts have decided that the fees we have been paying for years for using their cards are unfair, so these companies are going to be forced to refund a huge sum of money to their users as compensation for these undue charges they have been making for years. Here we are going to tell you everything you need to know to claim your share of the compensation.
Where does the conflict come from?
It turns out that for years users have had to pay extra money as a fee for withdrawing cash from ATMs. After much debate, the court decided that these fees were illegal and that they affected consumers as unjustified costs, and that is, they were charging you money for using your own money!
Who is going to receive the money?
Those users who used Visa or Mastercard debit cards and were forced to pay non-refundable fees between October 1, 2007 and July 26, 2024, and another requirement is that the fee must have been charged by an ATM network such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo or Bank of America. So, if you think you could qualify for this refund (because we understand that you will not remember if you were charged something for 14 years or not), ask to follow the process that each bank will have prepared. It is expected that this process will be transparent and fast for all users.
What does the agreement entail?
Users who meet the criteria mentioned above will be refunded a percentage equal to how much they paid of the $197 million that the Court will force these two companies to pay.
It should be noted that the distribution of refunds is not 50/50 for each company, but Visa will be forced to return $104.6 million to its customers and Mastercard will return $92.8 million to those affected by the use of its cards.
This decision puts into focus the debate that these fees had been a fairly considerable source of income for both companies, but consumer advocates (and consumers) were totally against it. Now, at last, they have managed to eliminate these usage fees.
How did the fees work?
Very simple, each company had a different way of charging. Visa charged cardholders a fee based on the volume of their use, so those who used the card the most during the estimated date would receive the most. Mastercard charged issuing institutions a percentage of the total volume of transactions carried out globally.
What’s next for users?
Affected users will have to wait for a notification from their banks that will tell them how to proceed.
To claim your refund, it may be important to find or keep documents that prove that these transactions have been made, so you’ll have to visit the bank!
For now, this case has set a historic precedent in the regulation of bank fees, and more importantly, in the protection of consumer rights, and it may also be the first step towards investigating other financial practices that have also been going on for years.
For the future, it will be important (and as advice for everyone) that before starting to use a service we are fully aware of what said service will give us (or take away in this case), because luck will not smile on us twice.
197 million dollars is a victory for consumers who had been affected by these unfair fees, and this only reinforces the need for financial transactions to be as transparent as possible. It is important not to remain silent in the face of this type of injustice and the first step has already been taken. Now, let’s enjoy this victory.