Toronto, ON – June 12, 2017 – Visa Canada has entered into a settlement agreement to resolve the Class Plaintiffs’ claims in the Canadian merchant class action proceedings. The claims were originally brought by Canadian merchants in 2011.
The agreement with the Class Plaintiffs includes, among other terms:
- A financial settlement of $19.5 million CAD
- Agreement to revise Visa’s No-Surcharge Rule similar to Visa’s modified US rule
The agreement to revise Visa’s no-surcharge rule and allow merchants to impose checkout fees on credit card transactions includes consumer protections, such as a maximum surcharge limit and requirements for merchants to disclose their surcharging practices. These revised rules will come into effect 18 months after court approval of the settlement.
The settlement agreement is still subject to court approval in each of the Canadian provinces in which claims were brought (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec).
Visa has settled without admission of any wrongdoing and remains of the view that it had strong defenses to all of the allegations advanced in the class proceedings.