Recovery Notice: File Your Claim Against Deceptive Credit Card Processing Fees.

Billions in Processing Fees. Years of Industry Litigation.

U.S. merchants paid a record $198.25 billion in credit and debit card swipe fees in 2025, up 5.9% from 2024, according to the Nilson Report, as reported by the Merchants Payments Coalition.

Payment processing expenses can involve multiple parties, including card networks, banks, payment processors, independent sales organizations (ISOs), POS technology providers, and equipment leasing companies.

Over the years, businesses and regulators have challenged a range of payment-industry practices, including alleged excessive fees, contractual overcharges, undisclosed billing changes, anticompetitive pricing rules, and deceptive equipment agreements.

Notable Payment Industry Litigation and Settlements

Why This Matters

These legal proceedings illustrate that disputed fees and billing practices can arise at multiple levels of the payment processing industry.

However, industry litigation does not mean every processing charge is improper or that every merchant is entitled to a refund.

A detailed review of your processing statements and agreements is the first step toward understanding whether your business has opportunities to recover appropriate charges or reduce future costs.

The cases above are provided for general industry information. SwipeFeeClaims.com does not administer or participate in these court settlements, and submitting a claim through this website does not create or submit a claim in any of them.

Your business may qualify if all of the following apply:

1. You are a U.S.-based merchant with settlement accounts located in the United States. A settlement account is the bank account where your card-payment funds are deposited.
2. You have accepted credit card payments for at least six (6) months.
3. Your card-payment processing volume is at least $50,000 per month or $600,000 per year.
4. Your business is not classified as high chargeback risk. Excluded SIC codes include:

These SIC references identify excluded business categories; they are not a one-to-one MCC mapping. Adult entertainment, sexually explicit products or services, and other very high-risk businesses are also excluded. The eligibility check uses business-type MCC search and confirms your actual business activities. Final eligibility is determined after statement and business-type review.

Merchants may request an independent review of their credit and debit card processing charges to identify potential billing discrepancies, disputed fees, and opportunities for financial recovery or adjustment. The following process outlines how claims are checked, submitted, evaluated, and pursued.

Step 1 — Check Eligibility

Before filing, confirm that your business meets the program requirements: a U.S.-based merchant with a U.S. settlement account, at least six months of accepting credit and debit cards, and card volume of at least $50,000 per month or $600,000 per year. The eligibility check takes about a minute and does not collect or store your business information.

Step 2 — Submit Your Claim

Complete the claim form with your business information, processing volumes, and current monthly fees. There is no fee or obligation to submit a claim for initial review.

File a Claim Online

Step 3 — Financial Examination

Following the eligibility review, your processing statements, applicable merchant agreements, transaction fees, and pricing structures are examined to identify potential discrepancies or charges that may warrant further investigation.

Additional documentation may be requested to substantiate findings and determine the scope of any potential claim.

Step 4 — Assessment of Potential Recoveries & Adjustments

The examination evaluates whether assessed charges are consistent with applicable merchant agreements, disclosed pricing terms, and relevant payment network requirements.

Findings may identify potential grounds for billing corrections, refunds, account credits, fee adjustments, or reductions in future processing expenses.

Step 5 — Claim Resolution & Negotiation

Where potential discrepancies or recoverable charges are identified, the merchant may authorize SwipeFeeClaims.com to pursue resolution directly with the applicable payment processing provider through qualified industry representatives.

Resolution efforts may include formal billing inquiries, requests for reimbursement or account credits, correction of disputed charges, and negotiation of revised processing terms.

Resolution proceedings commence only upon execution of the applicable agreement and merchant authorization.

Step 6 — Findings, Resolution Reporting & Ongoing Monitoring

Following the review and resolution process, a written report is provided documenting the examination findings, negotiated adjustments, applicable credits or recoveries, and any verified reductions in processing expenses.

Thereafter, ongoing account monitoring evaluates processing rates, fee assessments, and billing changes to identify new discrepancies, unauthorized increases, or charges that may warrant additional review.

This continuing oversight is intended to help preserve negotiated adjustments, maintain pricing transparency, and identify future matters requiring attention.

Claim eligibility, examination findings, and potential recoveries depend on the merchant's documentation, applicable agreements, and the processing provider's response. Submission does not guarantee eligibility, reimbursement, or financial recovery. Processing and resolution timelines vary.

No Upfront Fees

Submitting a claim for an initial eligibility review is completely free. This includes a preliminary analysis of your processing fees, an estimate of potential savings, and an initial report outlining any identified opportunities.

If your business qualifies and potential savings or recoveries are identified, you may elect to enter into a performance-based agreement with SwipeFeeClaims.com. Compensation is based on documented processing-cost reductions, applicable credits, or recovered overcharges, as defined in the written agreement.

Before authorizing any negotiations, you will receive full disclosure of the applicable fee percentage, savings calculation methodology, agreement duration, payment terms, and other contractual conditions.

Participation is entirely voluntary. You are under no obligation to engage SwipeFeeClaims.com after receiving your initial report. You retain the right to dispute charges, request refunds, and negotiate directly with your existing processor at any time, without using our services.

Under the performance-based model, if no qualifying savings or recovery is achieved, no performance fee is owed, subject to the terms of the signed agreement.

Depending on your merchant processing agreement, transaction history, and current pricing, a successful review may identify opportunities involving:

• Billing corrections. Charges that were incorrectly calculated, improperly applied, or inconsistent with applicable contractual terms.
• Potential credits or refunds. Amounts your processor agrees to return or credit following investigation and negotiation.
• Processing rate reductions. More competitive pricing on eligible transactions and processor-controlled markups.
• Fee adjustments. Reduction or elimination of certain recurring, administrative, or other negotiable processing charges.
• Ongoing monitoring. Continued oversight to help identify unexpected changes to processing expenses.

Results vary by merchant, processor, pricing structure, and contractual terms. Some reviews may identify no meaningful recovery or savings opportunity.

Understanding Your Independent Legal Rights

Some U.S. merchants may qualify for compensation through separate court-approved settlements involving payment networks and processing fees.

These legal recovery programs are independent of SwipeFeeClaims.com.

If you qualify for a court settlement, you may generally file directly with the official court-appointed administrator without hiring a private fee-review company. Eligibility, deadlines, and procedures are determined by each settlement.

Relevant official resources include:

• Visa and Mastercard Payment Card Interchange Settlement — paymentcardsettlement.com/en
• EMV Fraud Liability Shift Settlement — fraudliabilityshiftlitigation.com/en
• Discover Merchant Settlement — discovermerchantsettlement.com

Submitting a claim through SwipeFeeClaims.com does not enroll you in these settlements, preserve any court filing deadline, or authorize us to collect a class-action settlement award.

These legal recovery programs are independent of SwipeFeeClaims.com.

Understanding the Complexity, Cost, and Ongoing Oversight

Every merchant has the ability to review their processing statements, question assessed charges, dispute potential billing errors, and negotiate directly with their payment processor, subject to their merchant agreement. Participation in the SwipeFeeClaims.com program is entirely voluntary.

However, effectively evaluating and managing processing costs requires a significant understanding of the payment card industry’s complex pricing structures, interchange schedules, network assessments, and contractual fee arrangements.

Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express maintain extensive pricing schedules with numerous rate categories and qualification requirements. Transaction costs can vary based on card type, payment method, merchant classification, transaction data, processing conditions, and other factors. These schedules and related fees change periodically, making accurate analysis both technically demanding and time-consuming.

Understanding what you’re being charged is only part of the process. Determining whether those charges are correct, identifying negotiable processor markups, evaluating debit routing opportunities, and challenging improperly applied fees often requires specialized knowledge, detailed transaction analysis, and familiarity with industry pricing terminology.

Ongoing Monitoring Is Equally Important

Even after favorable processing terms have been negotiated, maintaining them requires continued attention. Each month, merchants may need to review statements, reconcile interchange and network charges, verify contractual pricing, investigate new fees, and identify changes in transaction classifications or processing costs.

A single rate negotiation does not guarantee that processing expenses will remain competitive. Without ongoing oversight, increases or discrepancies may go unnoticed for months or years.

SwipeFeeClaims.com provides an alternative to managing this complex process internally. Through specialized industry resources, the program coordinates independent fee analysis, negotiation, reporting, and ongoing monitoring to help merchants identify potential recoveries and maintain more competitive processing costs.

Merchants retain the right to conduct these activities independently, without engaging SwipeFeeClaims.com or any third-party provider.

Your Processing Rates Can Change, Even After You've Negotiated Them.

The rates and fees you originally agreed to may not be the rates and fees you're paying today.

Many merchant agreements allow processors, acquirers, independent sales organizations (ISOs), and agents to modify pricing, introduce new charges, or pass through fee increases, sometimes with limited or no advance notice.

Visa and Mastercard typically update interchange schedules and network fees in April and October, with additional changes possible throughout the year. Even after negotiating favorable rates, merchants may face new charges, increased markups, or changes in transaction classifications that affect their overall processing costs.

Without ongoing monitoring, these changes can go undetected for months or years, potentially resulting in substantial unnecessary expenses.

Why Acting Sooner Matters

The sooner you submit your claim, the sooner potential savings can be identified and pursued to help reduce your future processing expenses.

Timing may also affect your ability to recover past overcharges. Certain processors, acquirers, ISOs, and agents impose contractual deadlines for disputing fees or requesting refunds, which may limit how far back a merchant can seek reimbursement.

Every month of inaction may mean additional unnecessary expenses and fewer opportunities to recover historical overcharges.

Merchants retain the right to review and negotiate their processing fees independently or submit a claim through SwipeFeeClaims.com for an independent examination and potential resolution.

Submitting a claim does not extend or suspend contractual or legal deadlines. Savings and recoveries are not guaranteed.