Optimized Payments Introduces Free Visa/MC Settlment Filing Services for Merhants

ATLANTA - March 4, 2014 - PRLog -- Optimized Payments Consulting (OPC), an Atlanta based payments consulting firm, has announced that it will offer free Visa/MasterCard claim filing services for new and existing clients.  On December 13, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York approved a $5.74 billion Class Settlement among merchants, Visa, MasterCard and other Defendants in a class-action lawsuit. Merchants can start filing claims once the Court approves a Claims Form and determines when the Form needs to be sent to Class Members.  Any U.S. Merchant who processed Visa and MasterCard transactions between January 1, 2004 and November 28, 2012 will be eligible to file a claim.

Optimized Payment Consulting's free filing service will help ensure that a claim form is filed correctly and a merchant's pro-rata share of the final settlement is maximized.  OPC will monitor the settlement process and handle the administrative tasks required to file the claim on behalf of their clients. "Although the Claims filing process should be efficient, there can be issues with large merchants who have complex operations and opened/closed merchant accounts during this nine year period," noted Anand Goel, founder of Optimized Payments Consulting.

Based on data from previous class-action settlements, OPC's analysts estimate that only 30% - 40% of merchants representing 55% to 65% of card volume will actually file a claim.  Mr. Goel also stated, "we would like to increase the participation rate by educating merchants and providing them a free service."  Compared to some third party claims filing firms charging up to 35% of recovered funds, OPC's no-cost claims filing service should be very popular.  "We are offering this free service to existing and new customers only," clarified Mr. Goel.  He continued, "however, a merchant can become an OPC consulting client at no or nominal cost".

OPC is also providing free resources and encouraging all eligible merchants to preregister with the Official Court-authorized settlement website at http://www.paymentcardsettlement.com, especially if they want to file a claim on their own.

The Company launched a free online calculator to help companies estimate the value of their claim and a LinkedIn Group to keep merchants abreast of the latest settlement developments.  http://www.optimizedpmts.com/resources/calculators/settlement_calculator/

To read more about Optimized Payments claims service, visit http://www.optimizedpmts.com/services/interchange-settlement/

Optimized Payments Consulting (www.optimizedpmts.com) is an Atlanta, Ga.-based consulting firm that leverages its proprietary software and associates’ broad payments industry experience and insights to help all types of businesses manage their payment processing costs and improve their bottom line.