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ARTICLE · 23 JULY 2025

Merricks v Mastercard Settlement: A Landmark Judgment And Its Implications For Funders

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Walter Merricks CBE launched his class action against Mastercard in 2016. The claim was brought on behalf of a class of around 44 million people – anyone who purchased goods or services from any business...

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
Simon Day
Simon Day
Rachel Carter
Rachel Carter

Walter Merricks CBE launched his class action against Mastercard in 2016. The claim was brought on behalf of a class of around 44 million people – anyone who purchased goods or services from any business accepting Mastercard payments between 1992 and 2008. Mr Merricks brought these (purely follow-on) proceedings on the back of a European Commission decision which found Mastercard's European interchange credit card fees (MIFs) breached competition laws.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (the Tribunal) initially refused to certify the claim as "suitable" for the regime. However, following reviews by the Court of Appeal in 2019 and the Supreme Court in 2020, and a remittal hearing before the Tribunal in 2021, Mr Merricks eventually successfully obtained a collective proceedings order (CPO), albeit for a somewhat-reduced claim, worth approximately 65% of the original claim value (i.e. circa £9-10bn).

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