The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has officially approved Mastercard’s £200 million settlement in a long-running class action lawsuit that could see millions of British consumers receive up to £70 each. The case, led by Walter Merricks, former head of the UK Financial Ombudsman Service, accused Mastercard of overcharging consumers with excessive credit card interchange fees between 1992 and 2008.
The lawsuit, originally valued at £10 billion, covers anyone who lived in the UK for at least three months during the 16-year period and made purchases from UK merchants that accepted Mastercard. Depending on how many people submit claims, payouts could range from £45 to £70 per individual.
Despite the settlement, litigation funder Innsworth Advisors, which initially backed Merricks, opposed the deal, arguing that it significantly undervalued the potential payout. The firm even launched legal action against Merricks in a bid to block the agreement. Merricks responded publicly, stating: “Not only have I had to fight Mastercard, but I also had to fight Innsworth Capital. To try to prevent me from settling when I believed it was in the best interests of my class to do so, it threatened and then commenced legal action against me personally seeking unlimited damages which might have meant my bankruptcy.”
Innsworth, for its part, called the settlement “an extraordinarily low proportion” of the original claim and warned it could discourage funders from supporting future class action suits.
Despite the controversy, the court’s sign-off clears the path for potentially millions of consumers to receive compensation—marking a significant moment in UK collective legal action and consumer redress.