Visa and Mastercard have reached a combined settlement of $167.5 million to resolve a class‑action lawsuit that accused the two card networks of colluding to keep ATM access fees artificially high. The agreement, announced on December 19, 2025, assigns roughly $88.8 million to Visa and $78.7 million to Mastercard, reflecting the proportion of the total settlement each company will pay.
The lawsuit, filed in October 2011, alleged that Visa and Mastercard imposed rules that prevented independent ATM operators from offering lower fees, thereby sustaining higher charges for consumers. The settlement eliminates the risk of further legal costs and regulatory scrutiny related to the fee‑setting practices, and it closes a case that had been pending for more than a decade.
Financially, the payout represents a modest fraction of each company’s annual revenue—approximately 0.3% for Visa and 0.4% for Mastercard—but it signals a willingness to resolve antitrust concerns and avoid a potentially larger regulatory penalty. The settlement also follows a prior $197.5 million agreement in June 2025 that addressed bank‑operated ATM fee claims, underscoring a broader pattern of scrutiny over payment‑network fee structures.
From a business perspective, the settlement may prompt Visa and Mastercard to revisit their fee‑setting rules and increase transparency for independent ATM operators. While the immediate cash outlay is limited, the reputational impact could influence consumer perception and regulatory attention, potentially leading to tighter oversight of fee practices in the future.
The case also highlights ongoing antitrust pressure on the payment‑network industry, including a separate lawsuit from independent ATM owners that remains pending and a Justice Department probe into debit‑card market conduct. Together, these actions suggest that Visa and Mastercard will need to balance fee revenue with compliance costs and market‑share considerations moving forward.
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