Visa and Mastercard have agreed to a $167.5 million settlement over independent ATM surcharges, giving eligible consumers a path to claim money for fees paid since 2007, if a court gives final approval.
The Sun reported that Mastercard and Visa settled a lawsuit accusing them of higher fees at certain ATM machines, including those at gas stations and convenience stores.
The deal covers people in the United States who paid a surcharge, or access fee, to pull cash from a deposit account at an independent ATM, one not owned by a bank or financial institution. Eligible withdrawals run from October 24, 2007, through August 14, 2026. Claims must be filed by February 10, 2027.
No one gets paid until a court grants final approval. Visa and Mastercard denied wrongdoing, and the settlement is not an admission of liability.
The official settlement page, as quoted in that reporting, sets a plain test for the Nationwide Class.
It states: “Generally, you are included in the Settlement as part of the Nationwide Class if you are in the United States, were charged a surcharge (or access fee) to withdraw cash from your deposit account using an ATM or pin-debit card at an independent ATM (an ATM not owned by a bank or financial institution) located in the United States (including its territories).”
The same page notes another layer for some states.
“You may also be included as part of the Statewide Classes for California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Michigan.”
That statewide track sits on top of the national class. It does not replace the basic rule: a cash withdrawal from a deposit account, a surcharge paid, and an independent U.S. ATM inside the date window.
Fee fights of this kind sit in a wider consumer-payments fight, including how cash rounding and credit card surcharges change what shoppers actually pay at the register.
Not every cash grab at a machine counts. Credit-card cash advances are out. Prepaid card transactions are out. Fees already reimbursed by a bank are out.
Claimants apply online for a share of the $167.5 million fund. The reporting points to an online claim form. Individual payout math, caps, and required proof are not spelled out in the available settlement summary beyond those eligibility rules.
Payment-network power is already under political heat elsewhere, from credit union warnings on card legislation to routine merchant fee gripes. This case is narrower: independent ATM surcharges and a fixed settlement pot.
Mastercard and Visa agreed to settle. That is not the finish line. The settlement still needs final court approval before anyone receives a payout.
Court name, docket number, named plaintiffs, class counsel, and the judge are not identified in the reporting. The agreement date is also not given. What is clear is the sequence: settlement first, court sign-off next, checks only after that.
The same companies keep reshaping how Americans pay, from Costco’s broader Visa digital-wallet acceptance to other network moves. Fee cases like this one still land on the same basic question: who absorbs the cost when consumers need cash away from their own bank.
For cardholders watching network headlines, Visa’s other corporate shifts, including a recent round of job cuts amid strong profits, sit in a different lane. This lawsuit is about ATM access fees, not staffing.
Mark three dates. Covered withdrawals start October 24, 2007. They end August 14, 2026. The claim deadline is February 10, 2027.
Miss the filing deadline and the eligibility window does not help. Pay only with a prepaid card, take a credit-card cash advance, or already get reimbursed by your bank, and the claim falls outside the stated rules.
Readers tracking the companies’ fee record can also see related coverage of how Visa and Mastercard handled the independent ATM fee settlement in prior reporting on the same dispute.
Gas-station and convenience-store machines are the everyday examples. Those are the independent ATMs most people hit when their bank branch is closed or miles away, and where the surcharge line shows up on the screen before the cash comes out.
Big payment networks can deny liability and still write a nine-figure check. Taxpayers and cardholders know the pattern: the fee hits first, the paperwork comes years later, and the court still has the last word before a dime moves.