Notice of Settlement in a Class Action Lawsuit

Notice of Class Action Settlement Authorized by the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York - Notice of Class Action Settlement - TO: All merchants that accepted Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards at any time on or after December 18, 2020 This notice (“Notice”) is to notify you, with the leave of the Court, of a settlement agreement to provide equitable relief in the class action lawsuit In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, No. 05-md-01720 (BMC) (JAM) (EDNY). The lawsuit alleges that merchants paid excessive fees for accepting Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards as a result of antitrust violations by Visa and Mastercard individually and jointly with banks, including by adopting interchange fee rules and rates, as well as other payment system rules. The lawsuit alleges that this constitutes unlawful price fixing, unreasonable restraint of trade, and monopolization. The defendants maintain that they committed no wrongdoing. They maintain that their business practices comply with the law, are reasonable, and are conducted in a competitive environment, and, furthermore, have benefited merchants and consumers. The Court did not rule on the merits because the parties reached a settlement agreement, which was preliminarily approved by the Court on June 9, 2026. A. What Merchants Will Get from the Settlement At trial, the Court previously certified a class action proceeding for equitable relief pursuant to §23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and has now preliminarily approved a class action settlement agreement (the "§23(b)(2) Class Action Settlement" or the "Settlement"). Under the Settlement Agreement, Visa and Mastercard have agreed to make significant changes to the Visa and Mastercard policies applicable to card-accepting merchants. The Class Action includes all persons, companies, and other entities that accepted Visa and/or Mastercard in the United States at any time between December 18, 2020, and the date of preliminary approval of the Settlement, or June 9, 2026. The Court has set November 16, 2026, as the date for final approval and a fair hearing (the "Fair Hearing") under the Settlement, after the Class Members have had an opportunity to evaluate the Settlement and exercise their rights as set forth in the Notice. Further information about the Settlement and the Fair Hearing will be posted at www.InterchangeEquitableReliefSettlement.com. Under Rule 23(b)(2) of the class action settlement, Mastercard and Visa will amend certain policies to maintain, establish, or expand the circumstances under which merchants may, among other things, do the following: • Refuse to accept commercial credit cards and/or premium consumer credit cards issued by Visa or Mastercard. • Charge consumers a surcharge for using any Visa or Mastercard credit card, including based on the type of card used (for example, different surcharges for rewards cards and regular cards). • Offer discounts to consumers who do not use Visa or Mastercard credit cards, or based on the financial institution that issues the Visa or Mastercard credit card. • Refuse to accept Visa or Mastercard cards at all merchants that operate under the same trade name or brand, even if the merchant accepts the same cards at merchants that operate under a different trade name or brand. • Participate in Pilot Programs under which they accept Visa or Mastercard credit cards at some, but not all, merchant locations operating under the same trade name or brand for a limited time, or test different acceptance, surcharge, and discount options at some, but not all, merchant locations operating under the same trade name or brand, including refusing to accept commercial or premium consumer credit cards, for a limited time. • Accept some digital wallets at physical merchant locations but refuse to accept others, and allow some digital wallets to be used for online transactions but refuse to allow others, and manage the choice between cards in the digital wallet under the same rules that govern the “management” of the choice between traditional cards. • Benefit from reduced credit card interchange rates: Visa and Mastercard will reduce published and negotiated credit card interchange rates for merchants in the United States. • Benefit from the Credit Card Interchange Rate Cap: The Settlement lowers and caps rates on “standard” consumer credit cards and places caps on credit card interchange fees so that neither Visa nor Mastercard will increase their published credit card interchange fees above the rates in effect on March 31, 2025, and each will reduce its average credit card interchange fee to or below the capped level. • Form teams of merchant representatives that meet certain criteria to negotiate with Visa and Mastercard. • Access the Merchant Training Program created and implemented pursuant to the Settlement to help them understand and maximize the benefits of the rule changes, including learning how to effectively navigate state surcharge cap rules. B. Financial Aspects of the 23(b)(2) Class Action Settlement There are no monetary awards for Class Members under this Settlement. The 23(b)(2) Class Action Settlement provides only for equitable relief claims. Claims for monetary relief arising from allegations of defendants' antitrust violations are the subject of a separate 23(b)(3) Class Action Settlement. For information about the 23(b)(3) Class Action Settlement, please visit www.PaymentCardSettlement.com. As part of the Settlement, Visa and Mastercard will make certain payments into a Rule 23(b)(2) class settlement escrow account, proceeds from which will be used to pay: • the costs of litigating the settlement and providing notices, as the court may order; • the costs of the Merchant Training Program, as the court may order; • the cost of an independent auditor to ensure Visa and Mastercard's compliance with their credit card interchange fee reduction obligations; and • attorneys' fees and expenses, including any awards for class representatives, as the court may order. The funds from this fund will be distributed only if the Court finally approves the Settlement, and the funds for attorneys' fees, expenses, and class fees will be distributed only if the Settlement is entered into, all available appeals have been exhausted, and the Court approves a motion for attorneys' fees, expenses, and class fees. Attorneys' fees, expenses, and class fees: For work performed prior to the Court's final Settlement of the claim and for any work they are required to perform in the future, the Class Counsel will seek an award of reasonable and necessary attorneys' fees, expenses, and any class fees the Court may award, in an amount not to exceed $206,000,000. The Settlement provides that Visa and Mastercard will pay these fees and expenses separately from any other financial obligations under the Settlement and will not reduce any other benefits under the Settlement; the class members will not be required to pay any amounts on account of these fees and expenses. C. Statutory Rights and Additional Options Merchants included in this litigation have the legal right to file an objection to the Settlement. The deadline to file an objection is September 14, 2026. For information on how to file an objection, visit www.InterchangeEquitableReliefSettlement.com or call toll-free 877-318-7713. Note: You cannot be excluded from the Class Action Settlement under § 23(b)(2). To learn more about these rights and options, visit www.InterchangeEquitableReliefSettlement.com or call toll-free 877-318-7713. D. If the Court Approves the Final Settlement If the Court approves the Final Settlement, the Rule 23(b)(2) Class Members will be bound by the Settlement and release all claims against the parties named in the Settlement. The Settlement will resolve and release all claims of payment card businesses against Visa, Mastercard, and other defendants that were or may have been involved in the litigation, including any claims for interchange fees or other charges, under the no-surcharge rule, the no-discount rule, the accept-all-cards rule, and other payment system rules. The Settlement Agreement also resolves any claims by merchants accepting payment cards based on the future operation of any Visa or Mastercard policy that was or is in effect on December 18, 2020, and continuing through the final settlement date (as defined in the Settlement Agreement), any modified policy provided by this Agreement, or any other policy substantially similar to those policies. The waiver will not prevent the assertion of claims that constitute certain specified standard commercial disputes arising in the ordinary course of business. For more information about the waiver, please see the Superseding and Amended Settlement Agreement for the Class Action under §23(b)(2) at www.InterchangeEquitableReliefSettlement.com. E. Settlement Hearing A trial will commence on November 16, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to determine whether the Court will approve the proposed settlement and to decide class representatives' motions for attorneys' fees, costs, and class awards. The hearing will be held in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York District Court Judge Brian M. Kogan 225 Cadman Plaza East Brooklyn, NY 11201 You are not required to appear in Court or hire an attorney, although you may do so at your own expense. The Court has appointed Hilliard Shadowen LLP; Grant & Eisenhofer PA; Freed Kanner London & Millen LLC; and Nussbaum Law Group, PC as Class Counsel to represent the Class (the "Class Counsel"). F. Questions? For more information about the case (In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, MDL 1720), you may: call 877-318-7713; visit www.InterchangeEquitableReliefSettlement.com ; submit a written request to the Class Administrator: Interchange B2 Class Administrator, PO Box 6340, Portland, OR 97228-6340 ; or email the Class Administrator: [email protected]