Who it covers, what it pays, and what it does not fix
After two decades of litigation, a revised interchange settlement covering roughly twelve million U.S. merchants received court approval in 2026. Coverage is broad — essentially any business that accepted U.S.-issued credit cards since late 2020 — but the relief is narrower than the headline numbers suggest. There is no cash payment to class members; the benefit comes entirely through a temporary rate reduction and a set of rule changes. This guide explains what that means for a single-location retailer or restaurant rather than a national chain.
Merchants that accepted U.S.-issued credit cards from December 2020 onward are generally within the class. Debit, PIN debit, prepaid, and foreign-issued card volume falls outside the scope, so a business whose mix skews toward debit sees proportionally less benefit.
A reduction of about ten basis points in the combined average effective interchange rate on eligible credit volume for a multi-year term, plus rule changes covering surcharging flexibility, selective acceptance, and collective negotiation. There is no lump-sum payout attached to the class relief.
The reduction reaches you only if your pricing model passes interchange through to you at cost. On flat-rate or tiered pricing, the processor's rate to you does not automatically change when interchange falls — the difference stays with the provider. That alone is a reason to know which pricing model your account uses.
Network assessments, service fees, gateway and PCI charges, equipment costs, and processor markup are all untouched. Those categories are typically where a small merchant's controllable spend actually sits, and they rose in 2026 for many accounts.
The class relief is delivered through rate reductions and rule changes rather than payments to class members.
About $100 per $100,000 of eligible credit volume per year, assuming your pricing model passes the reduction through.
No. It is structured to run for a fixed multi-year term rather than indefinitely.
Use it as a prompt to confirm your pricing model and review your effective rate. That review usually surfaces far more savings than the settlement itself.
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