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If your business, existing or not, accepted Visa or MasterCard branded credit or debit cards between Jan. 1, 2004 to Jan. 25, 2019, you are likely owed a share of the historic $5.5 billion Visa MasterCard Interchange Fee Class Action Settlement.
But you must file to be eligible. Eligibility is not automatic nor passive.
THIS IS THE REAL DEAL. YOUR AWARD AWAITS.
If you haven't registered your business through the Official Court Approved Portal at PaymentCardSettlement.com, you're surrendering your share.
This can amount to REAL MONEY. Hundreds if not Tens of Thousands of dollars. Even 6 Figures.
You can choose to do nothing.
You can choose as many others do to file yourself before the current deadline of Feb. 4, 2025.
You can even choose to have someone else file for you, if it makes sense.
Then Wait. W A I T...W A I T.....W A I T.......
for your money to arrive.
Or
Let Us Make You a Fair Offer for Your Settlement
Whether You've Already Filed or Not
No Matter How Big or Small the Award Amount
No Matter How Big or Small the Award Amount
You can receive your funds FAST
No Matter How Big or Small the Award Amount
No Matter How Big or Small the Award Amount
No Matter How Big or Small the Award Amount
Settlement Money in as little as 2-3 Weeks!
Have You Already Received Your Claim Form?
Sample Mailing Envelope
Sample Mailing Envelope
Sample Mailing Envelope
Mailers originally went out in consecutive batches starting December 2023. New deadlines can trigger mailings.
Sample Claim Form
Sample Mailing Envelope
Sample Mailing Envelope
The Claim Form is single page printed on both sides identifying the business. Processing volume for 2004-2019 was displayed.
Let Us Explain...
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?
As of 2023, the Payment Card Interchange Fee & Discount Litigation Case #5-MD-1720(E.D.N.Y.) came to a settlement, originally filed in the District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
This was a rule 23(b)(3) class action anti-trust lawsuit which accused Visa & MasterCard of monopolistic practices in overcharging for interchange fees that represent 66 – 75% of total card processing charges. Visa MasterCard agreed to escrow $5.54 billion just for the repayment of interchange fees. Dating back to 2005, this settlement was 19 years in the making. It isn’t over. The district judge rejected the terms of the second piece of the lawsuit which covers Visa MasterCard business practices and their card network “swipe fees.” The rejected settlement, worth over $30 billion may instead be decided at trial. Additionally, as of this writing Visa was sued by the Department of Justice over alleged, illegal monopoly in the Debit Card markets.
WHO ARE THE PLAYERS?
Plaintiffs: Payless Inc., Discount Optics Inc., Traditions LTD., Capital Audio Electronics Inc., CHS Inc., Parkway Corp., et al
Defendants: Visa, MasterCard and their partner Banks to include Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citi Bank, Capital One, Wells Fargo, et al
Plaintiff’s Attorneys: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, Robins Kaplan LLP, etc.
Court: District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Margo K. Brodie presiding.
Class or Claims Administrator: Epiq Global
For Claims Outreach: Visit PaymentCardSettlement.com or email info@paymentcardsettlement.com
Phone calls accepted at 800-625-6440.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO ME?
Found Money. The original plaintiffs in the case came from a wide swath of business types and sizes. If they accepted Visa or MasterCard and possessed a merchant account, regardless of size, they were deemed eligible for recovery. They were representative of American business as a whole. Thus, some 18 million Claim Notification letters went out in batches starting in December 2023.
The letter identified the qualifying business and listed the quantity, dollar volume and total interchange fees between 2004 to 2019. This info came directly from Visa MasterCard. Each business was also assigned a claim number and control number, printed on the letter. In our experience, many merchants confused the envelopes with junk mail and treated it as such. The original filing deadline was May 31, 2024. It’s since been extended twice more to encourage enrollment, currently ending after February 4, 2025. Every new deadline brought a new round of mailings but it’s still unclear if participation has met expectations. Whether you received, lost or tossed the letter you can still try registering your business at PaymentCardSettlement.com. Just follow their instructions and provide the requested documents.
ANY EXCEPTIONS AS TO WHO QUALIFIES?
For most merchants, receipt of the Claim Notification letter is the qualifier. Still, not receiving a letter need not be an automatic Dis-qualifier either. Mistakes do happen. Mis-mailings to old addresses, even multiple addresses happen. Ownership changes, changes in processors, business dissolutions can affect the process. Visit PaymentCardSettlement.com to check your options. Some very large enterprise businesses such as Amazon, American Airlines, Target, Walmart, etc. have opted out of the class action to pursue their own legal remedies. There is also ongoing litigation whether users of Square, PayPal, Stripe, Intuit QuickBooks and other so called “PayFac” payment processors qualify. Moreover, operator/owners of certain franchises or chains may be excluded depending on the franchisor’s card processing agreements. Visa MasterCard had considered them an excluded group if their service didn’t directly itemize interchange fees. Review your service agreement with your business advisor for wording as details can matter. You may also reach out to PaymentCardSettlement.com for more clarification or updates.
ANY EXCEPTIONS AS TO WHO QUALIFIES?
For most merchants, receipt of the Claim Notification letter is the qualifier. Still, not receiving a letter need not be an automatic Dis-qualifier either. Mistakes do happen. Mis-mailings to old addresses, even multiple addresses happen. Ownership changes, changes in processors, business dissolutions can affect the process. Visit PaymentCardSettlement.com to check your options. Some very large enterprise businesses such as Amazon, American Airlines, Target, Walmart, etc. have opted out of the class action to pursue their own legal remedies. There is also ongoing litigation whether users of Square, PayPal, Stripe, Intuit QuickBooks and other so called “PayFac” payment processors qualify. Moreover, operator/owners of certain franchises or chains may be excluded depending on the franchisor’s card processing agreements. Visa MasterCard had considered them an excluded group if their service didn’t directly itemize interchange fees. Review your service agreement with your business advisor for wording as details can matter. You may also reach out to PaymentCardSettlement.com for more clarification or updates.
HOW MUCH CAN I EXPECT BACK?
The truly honest answer is No One Knows for sure. Much of it depends on numbers we won’t have until the filing deadline ends and that includes the total dollar value of validated claims. Even then, no definitive formula has been disclosed but that doesn’t prevent guesses from being floated – some guesses perhaps more educated than others. One lead attorney on the case even stated the sum can be “guesstimated” dividing the (a) merchant’s total interchange fees by the (b) final total dollar value of validated claims multiplied by the (c) remaining reward pool of $5.25 billion. Whew. A divided by B multiplied by C. Not complicated but not confirmed either. We have our own formula which we’ll address later. Everyone agrees it will be a pro-rated share. So it follows that the fewer the claims, the bigger the payout. The greater the claims, the smaller the payout. Again, not filing not only surrenders your share but even enlarges it to those who do.
We’re prepared to provide you a “Guesstimate” for free with no obligation. More later.
WHEN CAN I EXPECT A CHECK?
This again, is a conditional event. Class actions already tend to be complicated, arduous practices in endurance. They’re still gathering claimants. Typically, the next events would follow:
1. Filing deadline closes. We’re on our 2nd extension now, currently Feb. 4, 2025. More may follow.
2. Administrator reviews and audits all claims
3. All merits and deficiencies of contested claims are examined and judged vis a vis similar claims.
4. Judge reviews the case.
5. Judge approves or rejects the terms of the case.
Industry standards peg most class actions go from filing to settlement in about 4 years. This one took 19 years. The saying “past performance is not an indicator of future performance” won’t bring much comfort here. There’s no point waiting on the mailbox. Check the official portal for updates.
You can receive payment in as little as 2-3 weeks from finalized paperwork. More to come.
ANY WAY TO ESTIMATE HOW MUCH I'M DUE?
Officially, NO. Per the portal, the best “guesstimates” won’t occur until the filing ends and the total claims are added up. This is assuming public disclosure. BUT, We here at InterchangeCashback.com have access to a rewards calculator that uses different factors and assumptions to arrive at a more professional guess, based on long experience with settlement awards. Interchange fees vary wildly depending on card type, your industry and customer’s card reward structure. That’s why we will ask you for a Merchant Statement or two when you ask us for an initial Settlement Estimate. It gives us an idea of the kinds of cards you typically process. When we move forward to put together a final Settlement Buy Out Offer, we will also requisition Visa MasterCard’s data to complete our calculations. Only you determine at the end to accept or decline the offer with a final signature.
WHY ARE YOU INVOLVED?
We are what is known as a Third-Party participant. Most companies in this space are really more interested in filing on your behalf for a percentage, usually with assurances they will do a more professional job or will handle the “complex” filings better than you can. Maybe. Maybe not. We do know when they speak about providing you with a funding “advance” post filing, they’re utilizing someone like us. They’re a middleman whereas we can both File and Fund in one go. We can Fund even if you’ve already filed on your own. We’re the source. The filing itself at PaymentCardAcceptance.com was designed to be simple and straightforward, especially if you are or were in a possession of a Claim Notification letter. It’s as easy as filling out a credit card application and far less time consuming than completing your taxes. Ultimately, you will be better served depending on how You Value Your Time.
If your preference is simply to file and wait, regardless how long…by all means visit PaymentCardAcceptance.com without delay. Set it and forget it. Simple.
But if you’re at all Curious and find the idea of banking your settlement sooner rather than later appealing, please request a Free Estimate and No Obligation Settlement Buyout Offer. An additional step to be sure but to be forewarned is to be forearmed, right?
WHAT'S NEXT?
There’s nothing fate hinges upon more than the element of choice. Nah. No drama here. Call or email us for a very informal, no pressure conversation of what we do, how we do it and what could you expect. There may or may not be a form below to fill out. The additional information you provide helps us to have a more informed conversation, but you can also simply send us an email at support@InterchangeCashback.com and please include:
Your Name
Your Business/DBA
Number of Years in Business between Jan. 1, 2004 – Jan. 25, 2019
Current Monthly Processing Volume
Contact Information
and Optimally,
1-3 Months of Processing Statements
You may also upload the requested information as part of our online form. If the link isn’t working, please send us an email and we’ll reply with a secure link. We’re real people located in the continental U.S. and you’re welcome to reach out to us anytime at support@InterchangeCashback.com or call/text us at (949) 590-9400.
About Us
We are the OptPay Group, an up and coming Fintech Merchant Services Provider based in beautiful, dynamic Irvine, California. We promote cash flow strategies in the pursuit of better Payment Acceptance Solutions.
We've partnered with one of the nation's most prominent securities clearing houses to process and monetize offers for our Visa MasterCard Settlement clients.