Visa/Mastercard swipe-fee settlement: payout status and late claims

The Visa/Mastercard interchange settlement — $5.54 billion, one of the largest antitrust settlements in U.S. history — closed to new claims on February 4, 2025. But for the roughly 16 million eligible merchants, the story didn't end there: filed claims are still being processed, and late claims are sometimes accepted while distribution remains incomplete.

What this settlement covers

In re Payment Card Interchange Fee & Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation (MDL 1720, E.D.N.Y.) compensates U.S. merchants that accepted Visa or Mastercard between January 1, 2004 and January 25, 2019 for allegedly inflated interchange ('swipe') fees. Recovery scales with your card sales volume over those fifteen years — for established businesses, claims run from thousands to well into six figures.

If your business already filed

Wait it out. Claims processing at this scale takes years, and there is nothing to do in the meantime but watch for a deficiency notice and keep your contact and payment details current with the administrator — a claim that can't be paid is a claim that doesn't get paid.

If your business never filed

The deadline has passed, but administrators in this settlement have historically accepted some late-filed claims while distribution remains incomplete — acceptance is discretionary and shrinking over time. If you accepted cards during 2004–2019 and never filed, contact us now; we'll assess eligibility honestly and prepare the late claim if there's a path.