MasterCard Consumer Claim
Merricks v Mastercard

COMPO CASH Mastercard paying out millions in compensation to customers after landmark legal battle

MASTERCARD is set to pay out £200million in compensation to 47million customers after a landmark legal battle.

Customers will be entitled to a compensation payout worth up to £70 each.

It's understood anyone with a Mastercard - or who bought from a business which accepted the card - will be able to claim. We explain more below.

Millions set to receive up to £70 each after Mastercard settlement terms agreed

The UK class action against Mastercard, brought by former financial ombudsman Walter Merricks, dates back to 2016.

Millions of consumers are set to receive up to £70 each following the final approval of a £200 million settlement against payment card provider Mastercard.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal gave its final approval on how the settlement should be distributed on Tuesday following the class action against Mastercard, which dates back to 2016.

Mastercard paying customers up to £70 each after landmark legal battle - full details

Mastercard is set to pay out £200million in compensation after a major new legal ruling from the Competition Appeal Tribunal today. The payouts come as consumers financially lost out because of Mastercard's "unlawfully high" card fees.

The long running case has been running for the last 10 years, with Walter Merricks, a former financial ombudsman, having first launched the legal claim back in 2016.

Merricks alleged that 46 million shoppers in the UK were "ripped off" after fees were wrongly levied on transactions made between 1992 and 2008. The fees were paid by the retailers accepting Mastercard, which were then passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

Mastercard: Merricks demands apology from funder as £200m settlement approved

Nearly nine years of litigation entered its last lap this morning with an order for the assessment of legal costs in the mammoth collective action over Mastercard interchange fees. The Competition Appeal Tribunal's judgment in Merricks v Mastercard reveals the appointment of retired costs judge Andrew Gordon Saker as an independent expert.

The written judgment follows a hearing in February this year to approve a settlement agreement reached between Mastercard and class representative Walter Merricks CBE, and opposed by litigation funder Innsworth, which argued that the £200m payment was too low. Merricks today demanded an apology from Innsworth for its attempt to seek damages from him personally.

In the 80-page judgment, acting president Mr Justice Roth approved the provisional settlement. It ringfences £100m for class members, who will have six months to claim from claims administrator Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions. If the expected 5% of beneficiaries, ie 2.5 million people, come forward, each would receive £45. Should fewer come forward, the payment would be capped at £70 per head.

Tribunal approves £200m settlement

After eight years, Walter Merricks secures Mastercard settlement for UK consumers.

After more than eight years of legal wrangling, the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) has approved a £200m settlement between Walter Merricks and Mastercard, marking a significant victory for UK consumers. The decision, handed down on 24 February 2025, brings a close to a landmark case that has shaped the landscape of collective actions in the UK. Merricks, who led the charge against the payment giant, expressed his satisfaction with the outcome. “I am very pleased that after more than 8 years, where I have given my all to get the best result possible for UK consumers, that the Tribunal has today confirmed that the settlement I agreed with Mastercard is just and reasonable – in fact, the Tribunal went as far as to say it had no doubt about that. I had clearly hoped to have recovered more, but the case and facts developed in a way that meant I could recover less than I initially planned, but I recovered the best amount possible. I now look forward to distributing the settlement to get it in the hands of UK consumers.” The full court judgement is expected around mid-March, when Merricks plans to offer further comment.

£200m Mastercard settlement approved by Competition Appeal Tribunal

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has approved the settlement between class representative Walter Merricks CBE and Mastercard – with one of the three judges describing the £200 million achieved as ‘disappointing’.

The collective action, brought by Merricks and originally seeking more than £14bn, followed the European Commission’s 2007 finding that, between 1992 and 2007, Mastercard’s ‘multilateral interchange fees’ breached Article 101 of the EU Treaty which bars direct or indirect fixing of prices or trading conditions. The claim was brought on behalf of around 44 million individuals.

Tribunal approves landmark £200m Mastercard settlement

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) last week approved the £200m settlement of former solicitor Walter Merricks with Mastercard, in a case once valued at £14bn.

This means it rejected the objections of Mr Merricks’ funder, Innsworth Capital, to the settlement, although the detailed reasons have yet to be published.

Court agrees £200m Mastercard settlement in lawsuit seeking compensation for overcharging on fees

A £200 million settlement between Mastercard and former financial ombudsman Walter Merricks has been approved by the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

The groundbreaking legal action against Mastercard over claims of overcharging on fees was first filed nearly nine years ago. It was billed as the UK’s largest claim of its kind – and at trial was seeking an estimated payout of £10 billion.

It’s (nearly) over: Merricks/Mastercard settlement approved

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has given the green light to the proposed £200m settlement in the long-running class action between Walter Merricks and Mastercard – but judgment on distribution and the funder’s potential return remains on hold.

The case concerns allegations that Mastercard, defended by Freshfields, overcharged individuals on transaction fees. It was brought by class representative Merricks, represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher, on behalf of over 40 million consumers in 2016.

CAT signs off on Merricks/Mastercard settlement sum

Walter Merricks’ £200 million settlement with Mastercard is “just and reasonable”, even if it remains “very disappointing” compared to the original value of the claim filed against the credit card company, the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled.

The CAT today confirmed in an oral ruling its approval of the settlement sum following a challenge by Innsworth Advisors, the funder of Merricks’ multilateral interchange fee class action against Mastercard.

Mastercard landmark deal challenged in test for UK class action funding

Mastercard's (MA.N), opens new tab agreement to settle a landmark lawsuit brought on behalf of British consumers drew criticism on Wednesday, in a dispute that could deter funders from involvement in Britain's burgeoning class action sector.

The global payments processor in December announced an agreement to settle long-running litigation over card fees for 200 million pounds, far below the 10 billion-pound ($12.6 billion) valuation previously put on the lawsuit.

Litigation Funding Group Watching Mastercard Row For Now (Subscription Required)

The Association of Litigation Funders has said it is monitoring a spat between consumer advocate Walter Merricks and Innsworth Capital over the settlement of his multibillion pound class action against Mastercard.

Mastercard reaches UK agreement to settle claims of overcharging on fees (Subscription Required)

Mastercard has reached an agreement in principle worth about £200mn to settle a legal claim brought on behalf of millions of UK consumers that the payments company imposed unfairly high fees on card transactions.

Mastercard reaches 'agreement in principle' to settle mass UK fees case

Mastercard has reached an agreement in principle to settle a collective London lawsuit brought on behalf of British consumers over card fees, it said on Tuesday.

Visa, Mastercard, Merricks draw battle lines in UK interchange fee trial (Subscription Required)

A first-of-its-kind bumper trial to determine pass on in hundreds of UK interchange fee lawsuits has kicked off with Visa and class action representative Walter Merricks arguing that the majority of alleged overcharges were passed on to end customers.

Mammoth Swipe Fees Cases Joined Together In Pass On Trial (Subscription Required)

Two mammoth class actions against Mastercard and Visa will be heard together at a trial in November to resolve common issues about whether retailers passed on the credit and debit card giants' fees to consumers.