Bench Walk backs behemoth class action against Visa and Mastercard

Bench Walk is backing a £multi-billion class action lawsuit against Visa and Mastercard—one of the biggest competition compensation claims in UK history—for allegedly charging unlawful interchange fees.

The claim, which will be filed shortly at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, argues that businesses accepting payment in the UK by Mastercard or Visa-branded debit or credit cards should be compensated for allegedly unlawful and anti-competitive multilateral interchange fees (MIFs). MIFs are paid by businesses to their banks to accept payment by debit or credit card and are estimated to comprise up to 90% of a typical business’s monthly service charge. The MIFs are set by Mastercard and Visa rather than by market competition and are imposed on the banks as a condition of participating in the Mastercard and Visa card schemes.

The claim is being brought by Harcus Parker, led by competition litigation partner Jeremy Robinson. It complements the claims, also funded by Bench Walk, certified by the Competition Appeal Tribunal in August 2024 against Mastercard and Visa, for allegedly unlawful MIF charges on commercial cards.

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