$167.5M Non-Bank ATM Surcharge Settlement Resolves Class Action Lawsuit Against Visa, Mastercard

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Visa and Mastercard have agreed to a $167.5 million class action settlement to wrap up a lawsuit that alleged the financial giants violated federal and state antitrust law by prohibiting independent ATM operators from charging lower access fees for transactions processed on non-Visa or non-Mastercard networks, causing cardholders nationwide to pay more to withdraw money. 

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The non-bank ATM surcharge class action settlement received preliminary approval from the court on August 14, 2026. The settlement covers all individuals in the United States who, between October 24, 2007 and August 14, 2026, were charged a surcharge (or “access fee”) for a domestic cash withdrawal transaction at an independent ATM (i.e., an ATM not owned by a bank or financial institution) and were not fully reimbursed by their bank. 

For settlement purposes, a cash withdrawal transaction is defined as any transaction to withdraw cash from a customer’s deposit account using an ATM or pin-debit card at an independent ATM terminal located in the U.S., not including any credit card transaction or transaction involving a cash advance or prepaid card.

The court-approved settlement website can be found at NonBankATMSurchargeSettlement.com.

Settlement class members who submit a timely, valid claim form can receive a pro rata (equal-share) cash payout. 

The final amount of each class member’s cash payment will depend on the total number of valid claims filed, among other factors. 

To file a claim form online, class members can head to this page and fill in the required information, including their notice ID number if they received one via email. 

Alternatively, class members can download a PDF claim form to print, complete and return by mail to the settlement administrator. 

All Visa/Mastercard settlement claim forms must be filed online or by mail by February 10, 2027.

The court will decide whether to grant final approval to the non-bank ATM surcharge settlement following a hearing on February 17, 2027. Cash from the settlement will begin to be distributed after the deal receives final approval and any appeals are resolved. 

The lawsuit against Visa and Mastercard accused the financial heavyweights of violating the federal Sherman Antitrust Act and California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Michigan state antitrust statutes by prohibiting independent ATM operators from charging different ATM access fees or “discounted” access fees in the event a transaction could be processed on a competing network for a lower cost than on the Visa or Mastercard networks. The plaintiffs alleged Visa and Mastercard had illegally fixed prices, causing cardholders to pay higher access fees to use independent ATMs. 

A related class action case over ATM surcharges was resolved with a $197.5 million class action settlement with Visa and Mastercard in 2024.

Are you owed unclaimed settlement money? Check out our class action rebates page full of open class action settlements.