Visa (NYSE: V) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA), the two dominant global payment networks, found themselves targeted by a pair of proposed collective proceedings in the United Kingdom’s Competition Appeal Tribunal.
The actions, initiated by Commercial and Interregional Card Claims I Limited and Commercial and Interregional Card Claims II Limited under the direction of Stephen Allen, seek substantial compensation for British businesses alleged to have been overcharged through consumer card transaction fees.
These proceedings represent the first efforts to encompass every UK enterprise accepting Mastercard or Visa consumer debit, credit, or prepaid cards across all relevant transactions.
The timeframe under scrutiny runs from 23 October 2020 through 23 October 2026, with claimants also seeking interest on any recovered sums.
At the center of the allegations lie multilateral interchange fees, rates established by the card schemes and ultimately borne by merchants via their acquiring banks whenever customers make card payments.
Proponents contend that these fees, which typically constitute the bulk of a merchant’s service charge, impede competition and result in inflated costs for businesses.
Stephen Allen, a travel industry executive with four decades of experience and prior involvement in related commercial card litigation, serves as the proposed class representative for both claims.
Representation is split: Hausfeld handles the opt-out component aimed at smaller entities, while Harcus Parker manages the opt-in track for larger ones.
Under the opt-out structure, UK-domiciled businesses, organizations, and charities whose annual group turnover fell below £100 million during the 2022-2024 period—estimated at around one million entities—would be included automatically unless they elect to withdraw.
Larger businesses would need to actively join the separate opt-in proceedings.
Entities that have already pursued or resolved claims involving consumer card transactions against either network are excluded.
Estimates circulating around the filings place the potential value in the range of several billion pounds, positioning the actions among the most significant competition damages claims ever pursued in Britain.
The litigation is supported by third-party funder Bench Walk Advisors and carries insurance, meaning participating businesses face no upfront costs or liability should the claims fail.
The filings draw on earlier tribunal determinations that similar interchange fees breached competition rules and that merchants, rather than end consumers, absorbed the majority of any resulting harm in most sectors.
Allen has emphasized that the actions offer businesses ranging from independent shops to large chains an opportunity to reclaim amounts he maintains were improperly levied.
Lawyers involved argue that recent tribunal judgments on pass-on strengthen the prospects of success.
Mastercard has rejected the basis of the claims, characterizing them as speculative and reflective of a broader pattern of opportunistic, funder-driven litigation.
The company maintains that interchange fees underpin a secure and efficient payments system benefiting merchants, consumers, and banks alike, and notes that proposed UK reforms to opt-out collective actions appear designed to curb such proceedings.
Visa has similarly defended interchange as essential to a robust digital payments environment that serves all participants.
These latest filings arrive amid a series of related actions, including a separate proposed claim valued at approximately £700 million concerning post-Brexit fees on remote payments involving cards issued in the European Economic Area. The Competition Appeal Tribunal will first need to certify the collective proceedings before any substantive trial can proceed, a process that could extend over years.
