The UK claim will not pay US cardholders. It seeks money for UK merchants, while any US relief must come from a separate pending US deal. Multilateral interchange fees are per-transaction fees merchants pay to card-issuing banks through Visa and Mastercard networks. The Paypers reported that Harcus Parker and Hausfeld filed a Competition Appeal Tribunal application on 26 Oct 2026 seeking about £5bn for alleged excessive fees on UK consumer debit, credit and prepaid transactions from Oct 2020 to Oct 2026 in the filing report.
Official resources:
- Read the official notice from Globallegalinsights — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
- Read the official notice from Pymnts — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
Table of Contents
- Who can claim in the UK case?
- Why did UK judges side against Visa and Mastercard?
- What is happening in the US?
- What should US cardholders do now?
- Could US prices still change?
Who can claim in the UK case?
The UK case is a merchant case, not a consumer case. The Paypers reported that about one million UK businesses, organizations and charities with revenue below £100m would be included automatically on an opt-out basis, while larger merchants must actively opt in.
That structure means a US shopper, US small business, or US cardholder has no filing to make. The UK claim pays UK merchants that accepted UK consumer cards during the six-year period.
Why did UK judges side against Visa and Mastercard?
The Harcus Parker Commercial Card Claim site reports that the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled on 27 June 2025 that commercial-card default interchange restricted competition by object and consumer-card interchange restricted competition by effect in the case judgments archive. The finding was that Visa and Mastercard breached competition law.
The same claim site reports that the Tribunal found on 18 Feb 2026 that acquirers passed most of the overcharge to merchants, while merchants passed virtually none to consumers. That pass-on finding matters because it keeps the loss with merchants.
What is happening in the US?
PYMNTS reported that Visa and Mastercard announced a revised US merchant settlement on 10 Nov 2025 valued at $38bn that would cut interchange by 0.10 percentage points for five years and cap standard consumer rates at 1.25% for eight years in the settlement report. The deal still needs court approval.
NerdWallet noted that an earlier $30bn deal was rejected in June 2024 and the revised deal still needs Eastern District of New York approval. The UK claim also does not create US eligibility.
What should US cardholders do now?
US cardholders should not file in the UK case. There is no US consumer claim form tied to the London filing.
- Ignore sellers offering to file the UK claim for a US card.
- Watch the US merchant settlement for court approval and claim instructions.
- Keep major card statements if you track merchant surcharges.
- Check card agreements before changing how you pay.
Could US prices still change?
Lower interchange can lower merchant costs, but checkout savings are not automatic. UK judges found merchants passed virtually none of the overcharge to consumers, which weakens claims of direct consumer loss.
UK regulators show the same indirect path. The Payment Systems Regulator review found UK domestic interchange remains capped at 0.2% for consumer debit and 0.3% for consumer credit, but UK-EEA card-not-present fees rose after Brexit to 1.15% debit and 1.5% credit. Global Legal Insights reported that the High Court on 15 Jan 2026 confirmed the regulator can impose cross-border caps, a tool aimed at merchant costs rather than direct refunds.