Visa and Mastercard have agreed to a combined $167.5 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit filed in 2011. The lawsuit accused the payment giants of conspiring to keep ATM access fees artificially high.
Visa will contribute approximately $88.8 million to the settlement fund, while Mastercard will pay about $78.7 million. The agreement still requires a judge’s approval. Both companies denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement terms.
The settlement compensates potentially millions of consumers who were charged unreimbursed access fees at independent, non-bank ATMs since October 2007. This resolution follows a separate $197.5 million settlement reached last year with a different group of ATM users.