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US: Antitrust lawsuit over ATM fees revived by appeals court

By  |  August 4, 2015

A lawsuit accusing major banks of illegally fixing ATM prices at the expense of consumers has been revived by a federal court of appeals.

The Washington court recently ruled that a group of consumers and independent ATM operators could pursue antitrust claims against Mastercard, Visa, and three other major banks.

The lawsuit had previously been thrown out in 2013 by a federal district judge. This decision had been made after the plaintiffs failed to show any conspiracy to overcharge consumers.

Challengers will now argue that the payment processors coordinated with Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. to adopt anticompetitive fees.

The current lawsuit accuses companies of imposing contract terms to prevent independent ATM operators from charging less when consumers use debit cards that can tap cheaper processing networks.

Full content: ABC News

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