Visa and Mastercard cardholders stand to receive a share of a $167.5 million settlement regarding ATM fees.
The two major payment networks, Visa and Mastercard, have agreed to pay a combined $167.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit. Plaintiffs alleged that cardholders were charged excessive fees when withdrawing cash from independent ATMs—specifically, machines not owned by banks or financial institutions.
Cardholders typically incur an additional surcharge—known as a “usage fee”—when withdrawing cash from ATMs not operated by their own bank. Payment networks like Visa and Mastercard facilitate these transactions by connecting the ATM to the cardholder’s issuing bank.
The plaintiffs alleged that Visa and Mastercard mandated that the same usage fee be charged at a given ATM regardless of which payment network’s card was used. They argued that this policy eliminated the incentive for ATM operators to lower prices to attract customers, effectively amounting to price-fixing that violated federal and state antitrust laws.
While denying any wrongdoing, Visa and Mastercard agreed to settle the case; Visa will pay $88.775 million, and Mastercard will pay $78.725 million.
Eligible individuals may receive a share of the net settlement fund based on the number of qualifying surcharge-incurring transactions they report.
Claims may be filed by anyone who withdrew cash from an independent ATM in the United States between October 24, 2007, and August 14, 2026, incurred a usage fee, and was not fully reimbursed by their bank. The deadline to file a claim is February 10, 2027; applications can be submitted online or by mail at NonbankATMSurchargeSettlement.com.