Millions of people in the UK are owed up to £70 in compensation from Mastercard, regardless of whether they ever held a Mastercard. Eligible shoppers will receive the payment next year, following a landmark group legal case that settled out of court for £200 million.
The charges were borne by retailers accepting Mastercard payments, not by shoppers directly, meaning you don't necessarily need to have held a Mastercard to qualify. Walter Merricks, a former financial ombudsman, contended earlier this month that 46 million consumers were overcharged after fees were improperly imposed on transactions between 1992 and 2008.
Claim numbers and payment amounts
It is estimated that approximately 2.3 million people are expected to come forward to claim, with £100 million set aside for consumers. Should this occur, each individual would receive £45. If fewer people than anticipated claim, the maximum each person will receive is £70.
The update comes after a legal claim by a company called Innsworth was dismissed by the High Court in June 2026. The company had helped to fund the original case but wasn't happy with its payment, so it filed a judicial review to try and get a bigger cut of the settlement funds. The Tribunal subsequently authorised a payment of just over £63 million to Innsworth on July 31, 2026, bringing the dispute to an end.
Timeline for payments
An online claims portal had been due to launch last year but was delayed by this judicial review. The portal is now expected to launch in the coming months, with payments to follow in the first half of 2027.
Who is eligible to claim
You'll be able to claim if you meet all of the following criteria:
- You resided in England, Wales or Northern Ireland for a minimum of three months between June 1997 and June 2008, and purchased goods or services from UK businesses that accepted Mastercard credit cards. For those living in Scotland, the qualifying period begins in May 1992.
- You were aged 16 or over for the entirety of those three months. This age requirement was put in place because those aged 16 or over were considered "more likely to have suffered loss on their own account" given the working age in the UK.
- During the same period, you bought goods or services from a firm selling in the UK, meaning you can claim even if you've never had a Mastercard. You do not need proof of this purchase.
- You lived in the UK on September 6, 2016.
- You haven't previously opted out of the legal case. Everyone who meets the other criteria was opted in automatically, and you would have had to fill in a form or contact the law firm to opt out.
This means that anyone born on or after March 22, 1992 isn't eligible and can't claim.
