NEW YORK – A federal judge last week gave final approval to a $336 million settlement of a lawsuit accusing Visa and MasterCard and several banks of conspiring to overcharge consumers on foreign currency transactions.
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The class-action settlement covered holders of U.S.-issued MasterCard or Visa credit cards or debit cards and Diners Club credit cards who made foreign transactions between 1996 and 2006 and also required card companies to improve their fee disclosures.
Credit card companies generally assess fees of about 3% when they convert transactions made in non-U.S. currencies into dollars. Lawyers for the cardholders have said the actual cost of such conversions is about one-quarter of one percent.
