Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement: Payouts, Taxes, Scams

Eligibility for the Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement covers essentially any person, business, nonprofit, or state or local government entity in the United States that accepted a Visa-branded or Mastercard-branded credit or debit card at any point between January 1, 2004 and January 25, 2019.¹ Being in the class, though, is not the same as receiving money. The deadline to file a claim was February 4, 2025, and merchants who missed it will not receive a payment even though they were technically eligible.²

Who Was in the Settlement Class

The class is broad. Sole proprietors, corporations, LLCs, nonprofits, and state and local government agencies are all included so long as they accepted Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards in the U.S. during the 15-year class period.¹ If your business accepted either card brand at any point in that window and you did not opt out, you were automatically part of the class.

A merchant did not need to have accepted cards for the entire period. Even a business that took Visa or Mastercard for a single year during the window qualifies, though the eventual payment reflects only the interchange fees actually paid during that time.

Who Was Excluded

A short list of categories fell outside the class:

The United States federal government
The named defendants, along with their directors, officers, and family members
Financial institutions that issued Visa or Mastercard cards or processed their transactions during the class period
Plaintiffs who had already been dismissed from the litigation

Everyone else who accepted the cards was in.¹ Note that state and local government agencies are eligible even though the federal government is not.

Closed Businesses and Successor Companies

Shutting down did not disqualify a merchant. Former owners of closed businesses and companies that acquired an eligible business remained part of the class. Where the settlement administrator did not already have processing data on file, the claimant was required to supply information such as interchange fees paid, merchant discount fees, transaction volume, and a description of the business.³ For former owners without access to old processing statements, that step was often the hardest part of the claim.

The Filing Deadline Has Passed

The court-set claim deadline was February 4, 2025. Merchants who did not file by that date cannot receive payment, and the administrator has said it cannot guarantee late claims will be considered.²

One consequence of being in the class matters even for merchants who never filed: unless you opted out, you are bound by the settlement’s release. You gave up the right to sue Visa, Mastercard, or their member banks over interchange fee practices during the class period, whether or not you claimed any money.

What Eligible Claimants Actually Receive

The settlement fund is $5.5 billion in total. After legal fees and administrative costs, the net amount available for merchant payments is approximately $4.8 billion.⁴ Every approved claim gets a pro rata share of that net fund. The administrator adds up documented interchange fees across all approved claims, calculates what percentage your fees represent of that total, and pays you the same percentage of the money available.

Because the collective interchange fees claimed almost certainly exceed the fund, no merchant will recover the full amount they paid. A small restaurant with a few thousand dollars in interchange fees over the 15 years might see a check of a few hundred dollars or less. A mid-size retailer with hundreds of thousands in documented fees would receive proportionally more, but still a fraction of what it paid. Neither Visa nor Mastercard admitted wrongdoing as part of the settlement.¹

Partial Payments Are Going Out Now

On October 30, 2025, the court approved an initial partial distribution, and checks and direct deposits are being sent on a rolling basis to merchants with approved claims.¹

These first payments are intentionally partial. Some claims are still under review, and two outstanding legal issues tied to other litigation before the court must be resolved before a final distribution can happen.² The rest of your pro rata award will follow in at least one later distribution.

Payments go by check or direct deposit based on the option you selected in the settlement’s merchant portal. If you have moved or changed bank accounts since filing, update your information at PaymentCardSettlement.com before your payment is issued.

Taxes on Your Payment

Because the settlement compensates merchants for what were business expenses, the payment generally counts as ordinary taxable income. The IRS applies a simple test: what was the payment meant to replace? Here, it offsets interchange fees you likely already deducted as a business cost.⁵

Expect a tax form. The settlement administrator or your payment processor may issue a 1099 for the distribution. If you receive an initial partial payment in one year and the remainder in another, each amount is reported in the year it arrives. Talk to your accountant before filing season so the income is reported correctly.

Watch for Third-Party Scams

Third-party filing services have contacted merchants throughout this settlement’s history, sometimes charging as much as half of any eventual payment. Filing was always free through the official settlement site, and the administrator (Epiq) helps class members at no cost.³

With payments now in motion, a second wave of scams targets merchants who have already filed. Be skeptical of anyone claiming they can increase your payment, speed up your distribution, or recover extra funds for a fee. The settlement administrator will never charge you to receive your share. Questions go to PaymentCardSettlement.com or the administrator at 1-800-625-6440. Those are the only legitimate channels.

Checking Your Claim Status

The merchant portal at PaymentCardSettlement.com is where you check whether your claim has been approved, see the status of any pending payment, and update your contact or banking details. Because two legal issues still need to resolve before final distributions, the gap between the initial partial payment and the last one could be long. Keep your account information current, save any confirmation numbers from your filing, and check the portal periodically rather than waiting on a notification.

1
Payment Card Settlement. Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement
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Payment Card Settlement. Frequently Asked Questions
3
Payment Card Settlement. Settlement Long Form Notice
4
Supermarket News. Visa, Mastercard Swipe-Fee Settlement Claim Process Moves Forward
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Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments