Legal Matters

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Note 13—Legal Matters

The Company is party to various legal and regulatory proceedings. Some of these proceedings involve complex claims that are subject to substantial uncertainties and unascertainable damages. Accordingly, except as disclosed, the Company has not established reserves or ranges of possible loss related to these proceedings, as at this time in the proceedings, the matters do not relate to a probable loss and/or the amount or range of losses are not reasonably estimable. Although the Company believes that it has strong defenses for the litigation and regulatory proceedings described below, it could, in the future, incur judgments or fines or enter into settlements of claims that could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. From time to time, the Company may engage in settlement discussions or mediations with respect to one or more of its outstanding litigation matters, either on its own behalf or collectively with other parties.

The litigation accrual is an estimate and is based on management’s understanding of its litigation profile, the specifics of each case, advice of counsel to the extent appropriate and management’s best estimate of incurred loss as of the balance sheet date.

The following table summarizes the activity related to accrued litigation:


	Three Months Ended December 31,
	2021		2020
	(in millions)
Balance at beginning of period	$	983	$	914
Provision for uncovered legal matters	1		1
Provision for covered legal matters	146		10

Payments for legal matters	(103)		(16)
Balance at end of period	$	1,027	$	909

Accrual Summary—U.S. Covered Litigation

Visa Inc., Visa U.S.A. and Visa International are parties to certain legal proceedings that are covered by the U.S. retrospective responsibility plan, which the Company refers to as the U.S. covered litigation. An accrual for the U.S. covered litigation and a charge to the litigation provision are recorded when a loss is deemed to be probable and reasonably estimable. In making this determination, the Company evaluates available information, including but not limited to actions taken by the Company’s litigation committee. The total accrual related to the U.S. covered litigation could be either higher or lower than the escrow account balance. See further discussion below under U.S. Covered Litigation and Note 5—U.S. and Europe Retrospective Responsibility Plans.

The following table summarizes the accrual activity related to U.S. covered litigation:


	Three Months Ended December 31,
	2021		2020
	(in millions)
Balance at beginning of period	$	881	$	888
Provision for interchange multidistrict litigation	145		—

Payments for U.S. covered litigation	—		(7)
Balance at end of period	$	1,026	$	881

During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, the Company recorded an additional accrual of $145 million and deposited $250 million into the U.S. litigation escrow account to address claims of certain merchants who opted out of the Amended Settlement Agreement. The U.S. covered litigation accrual balance is consistent with the Company’s estimate of its share of the lower end of a probable and reasonably estimable loss with respect to U.S. covered litigation. While this estimate is consistent with the Company’s view of the current status of the litigation, the probable and reasonably estimable loss or range of such loss could materially vary based on developments in the litigation. The Company will continue to consider and reevaluate this estimate in light of the substantial uncertainties with respect to the litigation. The Company is unable to estimate a potential loss or range of loss, if any, at trial if negotiated resolutions cannot be reached.

Accrual Summary—VE Territory Covered Litigation

Visa Inc., Visa International and Visa Europe are parties to certain legal proceedings that are covered by the Europe retrospective responsibility plan. Unlike the U.S. retrospective responsibility plan, the Europe retrospective responsibility plan does not have an escrow account that is used to fund settlements or judgments. The Company is entitled to recover VE territory covered losses through periodic adjustments to the conversion rates applicable to the series B and C preferred stock. An accrual for the VE territory covered losses and a reduction to stockholders’ equity will be recorded when the loss is deemed to be probable and reasonably estimable. See further discussion below under VE Territory Covered Litigation and Note 5—U.S. and Europe Retrospective Responsibility Plans.

The following table summarizes the accrual activity related to VE territory covered litigation:


	Three Months Ended December 31,
	2021		2020
	(in millions)
Balance at beginning of period	$	102	$	21
Provision for VE territory covered litigation	1		10
Payments for VE territory covered litigation	(102)		(9)
Balance at end of period	$	1	$	22

U.S. Covered Litigation

Interchange Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) - Individual Merchant Actions

Visa has reached settlements with a number of merchants representing approximately 40% of the Visa-branded payment card sales volume of merchants who opted out of the Amended Settlement Agreement with the Damages Class plaintiffs.

VE Territory Covered Litigation

Europe Merchant Litigation

Since July 2013, in excess of 800 Merchants (the capitalized term “Merchant,” when used in this section, means a merchant together with subsidiary/affiliate companies that are party to the same claim) have commenced proceedings against Visa Europe, Visa Inc. and other Visa subsidiaries in the UK, Belgium and Poland primarily relating to interchange rates in Europe and in some cases relating to fees charged by Visa and certain Visa rules. As of the filing date, Visa has settled the claims asserted by over 150 Merchants, leaving more than 650 Merchants with outstanding claims. In addition, over 30 additional Merchants have threatened to commence similar proceedings. Standstill agreements have been entered into with respect to some of those threatened Merchant claims, several of which have been settled.

On November 26, 2021, with respect to certain pending Merchant claims, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) found that UK and certain other domestic and intra-European Economic Area consumer interchange fees before the introduction of the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR) were a restriction of competition, but that the question of whether those fees are a restriction of competition after the introduction of the IFR would need to be resolved at trial. Whether any interchange fees are exempt from the finding of restriction under applicable law and the assessment of damages, if any, will also need to be considered at trial.

Other Litigation

German ATM Litigation

In December 2021 and January 2022, Visa was served with claims in Germany brought by German savings banks against Visa Europe and Visa Inc. The banks claim that Visa’s ATM rules prohibiting the charging of access fees on domestic cash withdrawals are anti-competitive and they are seeking damages.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Litigation

On December 6, 2021, an amended complaint making similar allegations regarding the setting of foreign exchange rates was filed by several individuals on behalf of a nationwide class, and/or California, Washington, Massachusetts or New Jersey subclasses, of cardholders who made a transaction in a foreign currency. The amended complaint asserts claims for unjust enrichment and restitution as well as violations of the California Unfair Competition Law, the Washington Consumer Protection Act, the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, and the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. On January 19, 2022, Visa filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint.