Trending Now
Announcements Case Developments Commercial

Class action lawsuit progresses in London against Visa and Mastercard to challenge card payment fees affecting UK businesses

December 22, 2022

Class action lawsuit progresses in London against Visa and Mastercard to challenge card payment fees affecting UK businesses

A significant class action lawsuit against Visa and Mastercard has progressed at the UK’s specialist competition tribunal. The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has set a date in April 2023 for a Collective Proceedings Order hearing, which will determine whether the claim – on behalf of a large number of businesses seeking damages for allegedly unlawful charges – can proceed to a full trial.  Harcus Parker, a UK-based commercial litigation law firm specialising in group litigation, competition litigation and class action lawsuits, has brought the corporate card claim at the CAT, the UK’s specialist judicial body for hearing competition cases. The class action seeks compensation for UK businesses, which were charged Multilateral Interchange Fees (MIFs) for accepting payments using corporate* credit cards, as well as for both credit and debit cards used by overseas visitors.  The CAT has published the claim on its website and has now agreed to hear the application for a Collective Proceedings Order.  Harcus Parker claims that Visa and Mastercard have forced banks to agree to a level of MIFs set by the two giants, which are “anti-competitive and unlawful”.  “We want to ensure businesses across the UK economy are properly compensated.  We are making a stand against unlawful interchange fees, which should be abolished. Both the UK Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the EU have condemned this practice for consumer credit and debit cards. The UK courts should now clamp down on commercial card fees and consumer card inter-regional fees,” said Jeremy Robinson, competition litigation partner at Harcus Parker.  Mr Robinson added: “UK businesses in the travel, hospitality, retail and luxury sectors are particularly hurt by Mastercard and Visa’s multilateral interchange fees and we are pleased that this important claim has been endorsed by a number of leading trade bodies including UKHospitality and ABTA.”  Multilateral Interchange Fees make up the greater part of the service charges levied by banks on businesses when customers pay by card.  Typically, for every £100 spent, up to £1.80 is charged on payments made by corporate cards, or cards used by overseas visitors – costs which are borne by companies throughout the UK.   Since 2015, EU law capped Multilateral Interchange Fees at 0.3 percent on consumer credit card transactions, and 0.2 percent for consumer debit cards. However, this cap did not apply to corporate cards or for consumer card inter-regional transactions.  These sales have continued to attract fees of up to 1.8 percent per transaction.  Harcus Parker accuses Mastercard and Visa of requiring banks to charge anti-competitive MIFs on businesses. These MIFs for corporate and inter-regional payments should be zero per cent, say Harcus Parker.  The class action is open to all businesses, including large international companies and local businesses, as well as some non-UK companies. Many of these businesses, particularly in the travel and hospitality sectors but also the luxury sector too, have been particularly hard hit by Brexit, Covid-19 and the current economic climate.  UK businesses are invited at this stage to register their interest online at www.commercialcardclaim.co.uk.  Those businesses with an annual pre-Covid turnover of £100 million or more will be invited to opt-in to the claim.  Businesses with a turnover under this threshold who have registered online will be automatically included unless they choose to opt out.  A number of trade bodies have endorsed the claim, including: 
  •     ABTA, which represents over 3,900 leading UK travel brands; 
  •     UK Hospitality, which represents 740 members representing many businesses across the UK; 
  •     UKinbound, which represents 330 businesses; 
  •     Tourism Alliance, which represents 65 associations and organisations, which in turn comprise thousands of potential claimants; 
  •     Advantage Travel Partnership, which represents 350 businesses with over £4.5billion annual turnover and which officially endorsed the case at its 2022 annual overseas conference. 
The CAT will hold a ‘certification hearing’ between 3-5 April 2023, when it will decide whether the case can go forward to trial, which is likely to take place in stages in 2024 and 2025.  The case is financed by a third party litigation funder, Bench Walk Advisers, and is fully insured.  *Corporate cards are a type of commercial card, sometimes known as a company or business card.  The served claims can be found on the Competition Appeal Tribunal website:  Harcus Parker is a commercial litigation firm.  It specialises in bringing and defending complex claims, often involving large groups of claimants.  Founded by Damon Parker in 2019, the firm is a recognised market leader in group litigation, case management and litigation funding. 
Secure Your Funding Below
Secure Your Funding Sidebar

Announcements

View All
Announcements Commercial

Burford’s Q2 Profits Surge on New Capital

By John Freund |

Burford Capital has delivered its strongest quarterly performance in two years, buoyed by a swelling pipeline of high-value disputes and a fresh infusion of investor cash.

A press release in PR Newswire reveals that the New York- and London-listed funder more than doubled revenue and profitability in the three months to 30 June 2025. CEO Christopher Bogart credited “very substantial levels of new business” for the uptick, noting that demand for non-recourse financing remains “as strong as we’ve ever seen.”

The stellar quarter follows a lightning-quick, two-day debt offering in July that raised $500 million—capital Burford says will be deployed across a growing roster of commercial litigations, international arbitrations, and asset-recovery campaigns. Management also highlighted significant progress in portfolio rotations, underscoring the firm’s ability to monetise older positions while writing new ones at scale. Investors will get a deeper dive when Burford hosts its earnings call today at 9 a.m. EDT.

Burford’s results arrive amid heightened regulatory chatter in Washington and Westminster, yet the numbers suggest the industry’s largest player is unfazed—for now—by talk of disclosure mandates and tax levies. The firm emphasised that its legal-finance, risk-management and asset-recovery businesses remain uncorrelated to broader markets, a pitch that continues to resonate with pension funds and endowments hunting for alternative yield.

For litigation-finance insiders, Burford’s capital-raising prowess and improving margins could have ripple effects: rival funders may face stiffer competition for marquee cases, while law-firm partners might leverage the firm’s deeper pockets to negotiate richer portfolio deals.

Announcements Commercial

International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) Announces End of Year Gala and Inaugural Legal Finance Awards

By John Freund |

 The International Legal Finance Association is pleased to announce its annual End-of-Year Gala Dinner on November 13, 2025.  The event will take place at The Law Society in London, bringing together leading figures from across the legal finance industry for an evening of celebration and reflection on the year’s achievements.  

The dinner will be accompanied by the inaugural Legal Finance Awards.  The awards are designed to recognize and honor excellence across the legal finance ecosystem. They will spotlight the achievements of funders, law firms, brokers, advisors, and other key contributors to the continued growth and innovation of the industry. Nominations for the awards are now open, with the nomination form available here. 

“The Gala Dinner is a chance for our members and guests to gather in person and celebrate the progress we've made over the year,” said Rupert Cunningham, Global Director of Growth and Membership Engagement at ILFA. “We are especially excited to launch the Legal Finance Awards, which will shine a light on the outstanding work and impact of professionals across our field.”

Tickets for the Gala are on sale now, with discounted pricing available for ILFA members.  More information can be found here.

Announcements Commercial Legal Innovation

Sentry Expands Free Funding Market Search for Litigators

By John Freund |

Sentry Funding’s free tool enabling litigators to instantly search the funding market on behalf of clients has been expanded.

Sentry’s free ‘decision in principle’ feature enables lawyers to evidence to clients that they have conducted a broad market search, even if funding is not ultimately taken out.

Having deployed £125m in funding across a range of case types, Sentry now has access to an even broader funding marketplace, covering 34 global jurisdictions. Finance is provided by 13 funders, five of which are members of the Association of Litigation Funders.

With the recent addition of Sentry’s first US-based funder, the US offering will now be expanding over the next few months. 

A faster process

Sentry has deployed the latest technology to make the search for funding even easier. 

  • The intuitive application process now only asks questions relevant to previous answers, saving lawyers time.
  • The commercial marketplace has been redeveloped with 63 new data points added to the funder criteria matrix - improving the accuracy of case / funder matching
  • Sentry has also begun building out its AI capabilities, starting with an automated auditing tool for live case progression audits. 

Tom Webster, chief executive officer at Sentry Funding, said:

‘By broadening our reach and speeding up the process, we’re making it even easier for lawyers to raise funding. We’re also giving litigators an easy way to show clients they have fully researched the market, rather than just approaching one or two funders. 

‘The service is free to use, so even if clients decide they do not ultimately want funding or if none is available for that case, for the lawyer, it makes sense to use our “decision in principle” feature, so they can put evidence on file that they did check the market.’

Sentry Funding is an SaaS (software as a service) technology provider that gives solicitors access to a diverse marketplace of litigation funders. It works with solicitors, funders and third-party providers to ensure claimants are getting the most efficient service for their funding needs. 

The Sentry Portal also acts as a case management system that runs a transparent digital case file for solicitors, funders, after-the-event insurance providers, barristers, cost lawyers and other relevant third parties.