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Two mammoth class actions against Mastercard and Visa will be heard together at a trial in November to resolve common issues about whether retailers passed on the credit and debit card giants' fees to consumers, a London tribunal has ruled.

Visa and Mastercard Trials Hearing  : Tribunal Ruling

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled on Friday that a £10 billion ($12.7 billion) consumer group action claim against Mastercard can be considered alongside a group of retailers suing both Mastercard and Visa over their interchange fees. The aim is to collectively decide issues concerning the "passing on" of allegedly unlawful fees.

Despite the minimal overlap between the two cases, the tribunal determined that hearing them together would prevent inconsistent rulings. Evidence related to passing on will be heard at a hearing at the end of 2024, with closing submissions scheduled for 2025.

"It seems to us that the most natural case management solution is to grant the application," CAT Judge Marcus Smith said. "We are also confident that we have the ability to manage preparations for the timetable to trial (and the timetable itself) so that all parties have a fair opportunity to present their case."

Visa and Mastercard Trials Hearing : Background on Fees

The fees, known as multilateral interchange fees, are paid by businesses to their acquiring lenders to accept payment by debit or credit card. These fees are estimated to constitute up to 90% of the monthly bank charge of a typical business.

Consumers, represented by solicitor Walter Merricks, allege that they paid higher prices in shops between 1992 and 2008 due to excessively high swipe fees charged by Mastercard. Retailers are separately seeking reimbursement for "unlawful" interchange fees charged by the card companies for accepting payments throughout the European Economic Area since 2016.

Previous Findings

The consumer class action, brought under the U.K.'s collective proceedings order regime, arises from a European Commission finding in 2007 that Mastercard had infringed the bloc's competition law by imposing the fees on retailers. The commission also found in 2002 that Visa's fees in the European Economic Area restricted competition.

The tribunal noted that the Merricks proceedings cover a period partly predating the period covered by the retailers' claim. It added that "there is obviously considerable similarity in the pass-on issues arising in both sets of proceedings, such that a question of ensuring consistency arises."