Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide, sued recently by independent ATM operators and the National ATM Council over ATM fees the operators say violate federal antitrust laws, are the target of two new suits brought by consumers regarding their ATM charges.
In one suit, filed Oct. 17 in federal court in Washington, the plaintiffs claim the two payment card brands bar ATM operators from charging consumers different levels of fees depending on which card network processes their transactions. “The ATM restraints prevent ATM operators from offering their customers a discount or benefit for completing a transaction over a network that is less costly to the ATM operator, so consumers cannot be rewarded for using a lower cost and more efficient network,” the plaintiffs said in the suit.
Besides Visa and MasterCard, several smaller electronic funds transfer networks offer consumers ATM access, including First Data Corp’s Star and Discover Financial Services’ Pulse.
Plaintiffs in a separate suit filed Oct. 19 in the same federal court, which also names Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase &Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. as defendants, make similar charges, and they claim the banks conspire to fix ATM fees.
Last week, the newly formed ATM Council, a trade group for independent ATM operators, filed a lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard and claimed the companies’ rules amount to price-fixing
