Millions of British Mastercard cardholders are set to receive compensation following the final approval of a £200 million settlement in a long-running class action lawsuit against the payment card giant.

On Tuesday, the Competition Appeal Tribunal gave its green light to the distribution plan, bringing an end to a legal battle that began in 2016. The settlement will see affected consumers receive compensation, with individuals potentially getting between £45 and £70 each.

The class action, led by former financial ombudsman Walter Merricks, arose from a 2007 ruling by the European Commission, which found that Mastercard’s “multilateral interchange fees” — charged to businesses for transactions between 1992 and 2008 — violated competition law.

Merricks argued that these fees were unfairly passed onto approximately 46 million British shoppers, who were overcharged for purchases over a 15-year period. Retailers bore the cost of the fees, but Merricks claimed that these charges were ultimately passed onto consumers through higher prices.

The case became possible following the introduction of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which allowed US-style class actions in UK competition claims. Merricks stated that UK consumers who were affected could now come forward to claim their share of the £200 million by filling out a simple online form, whether or not they had ever held a Mastercard card. Payments are expected to be issued to those who register by the end of the year.

Merricks commented on the outcome, saying: “I initiated this case because I believed Mastercard’s transaction fees were unlawfully high, and most UK consumers were losing out by paying inflated prices as retailers passed on those costs. While the evidence revealed that this was true in only a small proportion of transactions, the final settlement represents a fair and just outcome for consumers.”

He added, “Recovering £200 million for UK consumers is a substantial sum, and the compensation will have a meaningful impact on people’s pockets.”