Potentially the biggest and most complex claim in
British legal history, according to some commentators, the
Competition Appeal Tribunal ("CAT") declined to certify
consumer claims against Mastercard as eligible for inclusion in
opt-out collective proceedings. Permission to appeal the decision
has recently been refused. The claim sought damages of
approximately GBP 14 billion arising indirectly in relation to
overcharging by Mastercard of multilateral interchange fees, which
it was alleged were passed on by merchants to consumers, by
charging higher prices for goods and services, from 1992 –
2008.
In this article we analyse the implications of this
judgment.
Facts
Mastercard operates a four party card payment scheme. A
cardholder presents a card to a merchant, and details of the
transaction are passed by the merchant to its acquiring bank and
then to the cardholder's issuing bank. The issuing bank
transmits payment to the acquiring bank, less a transaction
