The UK's Competition Appeals Tribunal has given the go-ahead for a $4 billion class action lawsuit brought by UK businesses over Mastercard and Visa multilateral interchange fees.
The claim, claim endorsed by leading trade bodies including UK Hospitality and the Association of British Travel Agents, alleges that businesses that received payments by commercial cards paid fees much higher than they should have been, causing them significant losses.
The Tribunal dismissed Mastercard's and Visa's objection to the claims being certified, ruling that the cases can proceed as collective actions. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs are encouraging businesses to register their interest now to claim their share of any damages awarded.
Responding to the Tribunal's judgment, Jeremy Robinson, a partner at legal firm Harcus Parker Limited, says: "We are fighting to ensure businesses and organisations across the UK economy are properly compensated by Mastercard and Visa for their unlawful multilateral interchange fees.
"MIFs operate like a tax on business, increasing the fees businesses have to pay to their banks for accepting commercial card transactions. These claims seek to recover the losses businesses have suffered as a result of Visa and Mastercard's practices and highlight the need for such practices to be abolished."
He points out that both the UK Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the EU have condemned similar practices engaged in by Mastercard and Visa.
Robinson continues: "We welcome the opportunity to hold Mastercard and Visa to account for imposing multilateral interchange fees at an unlawfully high level and causing substantial loss to UK businesses. We are pleased that this important claim will now proceed despite Mastercard and Visa's attempts over the last two years to deny thousands of UK businesses a straightforward and effective route to justice through the Competition Appeal Tribunal. The losses suffered by businesses throughout the UK are significant, estimated to be at least $4 billion."