Visa and Mastercard have agreed to pay $167.5 million to settle a long-running antitrust case over the fees charged at independent cash machines — the ones bolted to the wall in a convenience store, not the ones outside a bank branch. Claims opened on 11 September 2026 and close on 10 February 2027.
The detail that makes this settlement unusual is the length of the window. It reaches back to 24 October 2007. Almost nineteen years of cash withdrawals, in a country where the $3 surcharge at a corner-store ATM is a routine annoyance rather than an event anyone records.
Who is covered
| Who | Anyone in the United States charged a surcharge (an “access fee”) for a domestic cash withdrawal at an independent ATM |
| When | 24 October 2007 – 14 August 2026 |
| Excluded | Anyone whose bank fully reimbursed the fee |
| Separate state classes | California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Michigan |
| Claim deadline | 10 February 2027 |
| Final approval hearing | 17 February 2027 |
| Documents needed | None |
What counts as an “independent” ATM?
An ATM that is not owned by a bank or other financial institution. In practice that means the machines in convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores, hotels and bars — operated by a private company that keeps the surcharge.
This is the boundary that decides most people’s eligibility, and it is worth being precise about. Withdrawals from a machine in a bank lobby or attached to a branch are not part of this settlement. Those belonged to a separate case, Mackmin v. Visa, whose claim deadline passed in January 2025.
The reimbursement carve-out
The class excludes anyone whose bank refunded the fee. Many current accounts — particularly online-only banks and premium checking products — rebate out-of-network ATM fees automatically at the end of the month.
If that describes your account, those withdrawals do not count. If you have moved between banks over nineteen years, as most people have, the honest answer is that some of your withdrawals probably qualify and some do not.
What the case was actually about
The lawsuit, Burke v. Visa Inc. (Case No. 1:11-cv-01882, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia), alleged that Visa and Mastercard broke federal and state antitrust law through rules that stopped independent ATM operators from charging a lower access fee when a withdrawal was routed over a cheaper, rival network.
The claim was not that the surcharge itself was illegal. It was that the network rules removed the operator’s ability to compete on price, so the fee never fell. Both companies settled without admitting liability.
How much will anyone actually receive?
Payments are pro rata. The fund is divided among valid claimants in proportion to the number of qualifying surcharged transactions each person reports, after legal fees, administration costs and taxes come out.
Nobody can responsibly quote a figure yet, because the amount depends on how many people file — and that number is unknown until the window closes. A settlement that requires no proof tends to draw more claims, which pushes individual payments down. It also means far more of the people actually harmed get something, which is the trade-off the design makes deliberately.
The claim form asks how many transactions, not how much you paid. There is no requirement to produce statements, and no notice ID is needed if you did not receive one. The form runs on a good-faith estimate, which is the only workable approach for a class period this long. Estimate honestly — a claim form is a legal declaration, and inflated claims dilute the fund for everyone who files accurately.
When the money moves
Not soon. No payment can be made until the court grants final approval at the hearing on 17 February 2027, and then only after any appeals are resolved. If the settlement is approved and nobody appeals, the claims administrator expects payments to go out within six months of final approval.
That timeline — file in 2026, paid in late 2027 at the earliest — is normal for antitrust settlements of this size, and it is worth knowing before you spend a year wondering where the money went.
One thing to be careful about
A settlement with a huge class, no proof requirement and an official-sounding name is exactly the shape that attracts imitation websites. The official address is NonBankATMSurchargeSettlement.com. Type it in rather than following a link from a message, and remember that no legitimate settlement charges a fee to file or asks for your card PIN.
There is also a specific reason for caution here. In the related Mackmin bank-ATM settlement, digital payments sent out between April and June 2026 were later cancelled, which means some people are already expecting an ATM-related payment that never arrived — a group that is unusually easy to target with a convincing-looking “resend your payment” message.
Burke v. Visa Inc., Case No. 1:11-cv-01882, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Preliminary approval was granted on 14 August 2026 and the claim period opened on 11 September 2026. Claims must be submitted online or postmarked by 10 February 2027. The final approval hearing is scheduled for 17 February 2027. Details are published at NonBankATMSurchargeSettlement.com.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Which ATMs are covered?
Only independent, non-bank ATMs — the machines in convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores, hotels and bars. Withdrawals at a bank-owned ATM are not part of this settlement.
What is the deadline?
10 February 2027, online or postmarked. Claims opened on 11 September 2026.
Do I need receipts or bank statements?
No. The claim form requires no documents, and no notice ID is needed if you did not receive one. You give a good-faith count of qualifying transactions.
How far back does it go?
24 October 2007 through 14 August 2026 — close to nineteen years.
What if my bank refunded the ATM fee?
Then those withdrawals are excluded. The class covers surcharges that were not fully reimbursed by your bank.
How much will I get?
It depends on how many valid claims are filed. Payments are pro rata, based on the number of qualifying transactions claimed, after fees and costs.
When will payments arrive?
Not before the final approval hearing on 17 February 2027. If there are no appeals, the administrator expects payments within six months of final approval.
