Mastercard may have to pay billions in UK class action

Mastercard could have to pay UK consumers as much as 14 billion pounds ($18.5 billion) after the country’s Supreme Court allowed a class-action lawsuit against the credit-card company to move forward.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered a competition tribunal to reconsider its decision to block a lawsuit alleging that Mastercard overcharged businesses that accepted the company’s credit and debit cards.

These fees were then passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices, the suit claims. Mastercard does not accept that merchants passed on all or any part of any overcharge to their customers.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal must now reconsider its refusal to certify the lawsuit as a “collective proceeding.” Certification is required before mass litigation can proceed in Britain.