What the settlement is about
The lawsuit, Burke v. Visa, says Visa and Mastercard network rules violated antitrust laws by barring non-bank ATM operators from charging different access fees, or a lower fee, when a withdrawal could run on a cheaper competing network [2]. The claim is that cardholders paid higher ATM fees as a result. Visa and Mastercard deny they did anything wrong [2].
The notice defines a non-bank ATM, which it calls an IATM, as a machine not owned by Visa, Mastercard, or any bank or financial institution [2]. That can describe the machine by the door of a convenience store, bar or gas station, unless a bank owns it.
Visa and Mastercard agreed to pay $167,500,000 in total, $88,775,000 from Visa and $78,725,000 from Mastercard [2]. After fees, costs and up to $3 million for notice and administration, the rest is split among people who file valid claims [2].
Who gets paid, and who does not
The nationwide class covers anyone charged an access fee for a domestic cash withdrawal at a non-bank ATM in the U.S. between October 24, 2007 and August 14, 2026, if their bank did not fully reimburse it [1]. The withdrawal must come from a deposit account using an ATM or PIN-debit card. Credit card withdrawals, cash advances and prepaid cards are not included [1].
Each valid claim gets a share based on the number of qualifying surcharged transactions submitted, so no one can know the amount in advance [2]. Payments go out by email, with options such as PayPal or a virtual debit card, or a mailed check on request [2].
If a customer asks you at the counter
A fair answer: "The settlement is for people who paid ATM fees, not for the store. The official site is NonbankATMSurchargeSettlement.com, and claims are due February 10, 2027." You do not need to collect anything or keep records for them.
If you own or operate the ATM
The notice lists a separate case, National ATM Council v. Visa, that involves entities or businesses that own or operate non-bank ATMs [2]. The Burke settlement does not settle that case, and the notice says choices made in Burke do not affect rights in the related cases [2]. If you own your machine, watch for any notice in the National ATM Council case and read it carefully.
If the machine in your store belongs to an ATM company rather than to you, ask that company whether it has received notices in the operator case. The notice does not say whether any payment would reach a store that only hosts a machine.
The ATM fee notice rule you still follow
The settlement does not change how ATM fees must be shown. Under federal Regulation E, an ATM operator that charges a fee must give notice of the fee and its amount, on the screen or on paper, before the customer is committed to paying [3]. The operator may charge the fee only if the customer gets that notice and chooses to continue [3].
If an ATM company runs your machine, ask it to confirm the fee notice is in place. Either way, it is worth checking once that the fee shown on screen matches what the machine charges.
ATM fees are not card surcharges
An ATM access fee is a charge for a cash withdrawal. A surcharge at your register is a fee added to a card purchase, and it follows different rules. Before adding any fee to card sales, read our New Jersey surcharge law guide.
Is the settlement notice real?
Many people searching this topic are asking whether an email about it is a scam. The court-approved notice comes from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and points to one website, NonbankATMSurchargeSettlement.com, and one phone line, 1-866-893-1052 [2]. A safe habit: type that address yourself rather than clicking a link, and never pay anything to file. The notice says class members do not pay the class lawyers [2].
For your own counter, the fees worth a fresh look are the ones you pay on card sales. BatchOut can review your last statement, and our convenience store processing guide covers what to look for.