Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) have recently agreed to settle a lawsuit accusing the card payment network giants of conspiring to maintain artificially high ATM access fees.
If a judge approves the settlement, Visa (V) would add some $88.8M and Mastercard (MA) about $78.7M to a settlement fund. Eligible customers with qualifying ATM transactions made since October 2007 would get the money, according to a court filing.
The case dates back to 2011, when consumers sued over Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) policies they alleged prevented independent ATM providers from competing by charging cheaper fees. And this is just one of three related suits pending in federal court.
Separately, last month, the two firms reached a proposed settlement to resolve a two-decade legal battle with U.S. merchants by reducing credit-card fees and loosening restrictions on which cards stores must accept.
Visa (V) shares gained 0.7% in midafternoon trading, while MA rose 0.6%.