--- title: Visa, Mastercard Antitrust Class Actions Certified in New York and DC description: MoginRubin reports on class actions against Visa and Mastercard over anticompetitive fees and practices that harm merchants, ATM operators and consumers. image: https://blog.moginrubin.com/hubfs/MoginRubin%20Blog%20Logo%20Nov-2020%20v1.png --- [![MOGIN LAW LLP](https://blog.moginrubin.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MoginRubin_October2019%20Theme/Images/MOGIN%20LAW%20LLP%20Large%20JPEG.jpg?width=484&height=625&name=MOGIN%20LAW%20LLP%20Large%20JPEG.jpg "MOGIN LAW LLP")](https://blog.moginrubin.com/hubfs/MoginRubin_October2019%20Theme/Images/MOGIN%20LAW%20LLP%20Large%20JPEG.jpg) - About - [Our Mission](https://moginlawllp.com/about/our-mission/) - [Why MoginRubin?](https://moginlawllp.com/about/why-mogin-law/) - [Our Experience](https://moginlawllp.com/about/our-experience/) - [Attorneys](https://moginlawllp.com/attorney/) - [News & Publications](https://moginrubin.com/news-publications/) - [Firm News](https://moginlawllp.com/category/firm-news/) - [Competition Law News](https://moginlawllp.com/category/competition-law-news/) - [Mogin Law Blog](https://moginlawllp.com/mogin-law-blog/) - [Blog Archive](https://blog.moginrubin.com/) - [Subscribe](https://insights.moginrubin.com/subscribe-to-the-blog) [Antitrust Litigation & Investigations](https://blog.moginrubin.com/tag/antitrust-litigation-investigations) # Visa, Mastercard Antitrust Class Actions Certified in New York and DC Subscribe September 30, 2021, 12:45 PM [MoginRubin Blog Staff](https://blog.moginrubin.com/author/moginrubin-blog-staff) - - - Two class action certifications in two months have put credit card giants Visa and Mastercard on the defensive over the alleged anticompetitive transaction fees and rules the companies impose on merchants in one case and independent ATM operators in the other.   Most recently, U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie of New York certified a class action against Visa, Mastercard and a group of large banks on Sept. 27 for fixing the “merchant discount,” the fee paid by merchants on credit and debit card transactions, and for rules that prevent merchants from steering customers to other, lower-fee payment options (*In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation*, MDL No. 1720 \[MKB\] \[JO\]). The court has already preliminarily approved a proposed settlement of a maximum of $6.24 billion and a minimum of $5.54 billion.   In *Payment Card Interchange Fee*, a group of merchants sued the card companies and their largest member banks for conspiring to set the merchant discount and imposing rules that limit merchants from steering customers to other methods of payment, so-called no-surcharge rules, no-discounting rules, and honor-all-cards rules. These rules insulate the card networks from competitive pressure to lower the interchange fees that merchants pay whenever a consumer uses a credit or debit card to make a purchase. The case was brought on behalf of merchants that accepted Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards between January 1, 2004, and January 25, 2019.   Named plaintiffs in the case are Photos Etc. Corporation DBA ScanMyPhotos.Com; Traditions, Ltd.; Capital Audio Electronics, Inc.; CHS Inc.; Discount Optics, Inc.; Leon’s Transmission Service, Inc.; Parkway Corporation; and Payless Inc.   In addition to Visa and Mastercard, defendants include Bank of America, Barclays, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, Citicorp, Fifth Third Bancorp, First National Bank of Omaha, HSBC, PNC, National City, SunTrust, Texas Independent Bancshares, and Wells Fargo.   **Independent ATM Operators**   The month before Judge Brodie's ruling in federal court in Brooklyn, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon of the District of Columbia certified classes of plaintiffs who sued the card networks for price-fixing that restrains how ATM operators charge customers for cash withdrawals and inflate the network fees for ATM transactions. Such conduct is a restraint of trade prohibited by Section 1 of the Sherman Act, plaintiffs maintain (*National ATM Council, Inc. et al., v. Visa Inc., et al.*, No. 1:11-cv-01803-RJL, D. DC).   MoginRubin LLP brought the case on behalf of independent ATM operators, non-bank affiliated ATM operators and the National ATM Council. The class of non-bank, independent ATM operators deploy about 60% of the ATMs in service in the U.S. The class is defined as all non-bank ATM operators that originated an authorized surcharged ATM cash disbursement at a qualified ATM at any time between Oct. 1, 2007, and the present.   MoginRubin's Jonathan Rubin, co-lead counsel in this decade-old litigation, said the rules adopted by Visa and Mastercard member banks "have stifled competition between ATM networks for years, inflating prices for ATM Operators and consumers alike." Rubin said the ruling to certify the class is a "significant step toward loosening the grip of Visa and Mastercard on the market for ATM network services." The case will benefit all independent ATM operators and millions of cardholders who depend on independent ATMs, he added. Joining Rubin in representing the plaintiffs are his colleagues Dan Mogin (co-lead counsel), Jennifer M. Oliver, and Joy Sidhwa. The Court issued its ruling certifying the class on Aug. 4.   *Edited by Tom Hagy for MoginRubin LLP* ### About the Attorneys #### Jonathan Rubin Partner & Co-Founder [jrubin@moginrubin.com](mailto:jrubin@moginrubin.com) Co-founder and partner Jonathan Rubin focuses his legal practice exclusively on antitrust and competition law and policy. Based in Washington, DC, he has litigated and led trial teams in major antitrust cases throughout the country. He has published in influential academic journals and has spoken to numerous professional groups, including the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission, the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association, the University of Wisconsin, and the American Antitrust Institute. He has also made several appearances before Congressional committees. [Learn more about Jonathan](https://moginrubin.com/attorneys/jonathan-rubin/) #### Dan Mogin Managing Partner [dmogin@moginrubin.com](mailto:dmogin@moginrubin.com) Dan Mogin, founding and managing partner of MoginRubin, concentrates his practice on antitrust, unfair competition and complex business litigation. He has served as lead counsel in numerous large antitrust cases, chaired the Antitrust Section of the California Bar, taught antitrust law and was editor-in-chief of a leading competition law treatise. [Learn more about Dan](https://moginrubin.com/attorneys/dan-mogin/) #### Jennifer M. Oliver Partner [joliver@moginrubin.com](mailto:joliver@moginrubin.com) Jennifer Oliver focuses on antitrust, complex business, and investment litigation. Her experience includes active roles in several high-profile jury trials, serving as lead counsel in complex mediations, and arguing before courts at both the trial and appellate levels. Jennifer is also a certified information privacy professional. [Learn more about Jennifer](https://moginrubin.com/attorneys/jennifer-m-oliver/) #### Joy Sidhwa Senior Counsel [jsidhwa@moginrubin.com](mailto:jsidhwa@moginrubin.com) Joy Sidhwa concentrates on antitrust and complex litigation, and leads the firm's document discovery team. She is involved in many facets of litigation, including creative discovery strategy and expert and trial preparation. She was named to the Best of the Bar by the San Diego Business Journal and received the 2018 and 2019 International Advisory Experts Award for Complex Litigation in California. She received the Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego’s President’s Award for Outstanding Service in 2009 and 2010 for her service to the Board of Directors. [Learn more about Joy](https://moginrubin.com/attorneys/joy-m-sidhwa/) MoginRubin LLP [619.687.6611](tel:6196876611) [info@moginrubin.com](mailto:info@moginrubin.com) [San Diego Office: One America Plaza, 600 West Broadway, Suite 3300, San Diego, CA 92101](https://goo.gl/maps/czUa4wiPC56W9TDo6) [Washington DC Office: 2101 L Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037](https://goo.gl/maps/s8PtTtczuNykdW5U6) © MoginRubin LLP     [Legal Disclaimers](https://moginrubin.com/legal-disclaimers/)    [Privacy Policy](https://moginrubin.com/privacy-policy/) ``` ``` - - - ![best-law-firms-badge-300x300](https://blog.moginrubin.com/hs-fs/hubfs/best-law-firms-badge-300x300.png?width=110&height=110&name=best-law-firms-badge-300x300.png) ![Legal500-207x300](https://blog.moginrubin.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Legal500-207x300.jpg?width=76&height=110&name=Legal500-207x300.jpg) ![Daily-Journal-Top-Boutiques-2019](https://blog.moginrubin.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Daily-Journal-Top-Boutiques-2019.png?width=110&height=110&name=Daily-Journal-Top-Boutiques-2019.png) ![2019-LD_Plantiff_Financial-Lawyer1-300x300](https://blog.moginrubin.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2019-LD_Plantiff_Financial-Lawyer1-300x300.jpg?width=110&height=110&name=2019-LD_Plantiff_Financial-Lawyer1-300x300.jpg) ![Lawyers-of-Distinction-2019](https://blog.moginrubin.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Lawyers-of-Distinction-2019.png?width=100&height=100&name=Lawyers-of-Distinction-2019.png) ![Super-Lawyers-Badge-TRANSPARENT](https://blog.moginrubin.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Super-Lawyers-Badge-TRANSPARENT.png?width=201&height=70&name=Super-Lawyers-Badge-TRANSPARENT.png) ![2018-IAE-Awards-Winner-logo-1-300x163](https://blog.moginrubin.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2018-IAE-Awards-Winner-logo-1-300x163.jpg?width=184&height=100&name=2018-IAE-Awards-Winner-logo-1-300x163.jpg)