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Legal Matters | 3 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Legal Matters | 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. For those proceedings where a loss is determined to be only reasonably possible or probable but not estimable, the Company has disclosed the nature of the claim. Additionally, unless otherwise disclosed below with respect to these proceedings, the Company cannot provide an estimate of the possible loss or range of loss. 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,
| 2023 |  | 2022
| (in millions)
Balance as of beginning of period | $ | 1,751 |  |  | $ | 1,456 |
Provision for uncovered legal matters | 10 |  |  | — |
Provision for covered legal matters | 22 |  |  | 347 |
Payments for legal matters | (312) |  |  | (101) |
Balance as of end of period | $ | 1,471 |  |  | $ | 1,702 |
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,
| 2023 |  | 2022
| (in millions)
Balance as of beginning of period | $ | 1,621 |  |  | $ | 1,441 |
Provision for interchange multidistrict litigation | — |  |  | 341 |
Payments for U.S. covered litigation | (160) |  |  | (101) |
Balance as of end of period | $ | 1,461 |  |  | $ | 1,681 |
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,
| 2023 |  | 2022
| (in millions)
Balance as of beginning of period | $ | 110 |  |  | $ | 11 |
Provision for VE territory covered litigation | 22 |  |  | 6 |
Payments for VE territory covered litigation | (126) |  |  | — |
Balance as of end of period | $ | 6 |  |  | $ | 17 |
U.S. Covered Litigation Interchange Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) - Class Actions On December 4, 2023, plaintiffs in the two actions led, respectively, by Hayley Lanning and Camp Grounds Coffee, served a motion for partial summary judgment. On January 8, 2024, defendants’ motions for summary judgment under Ohio v. American Express were granted in part and denied in part. Interchange Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) - Individual Merchant Actions Visa has reached settlements with a number of merchants representing approximately 73% of the Visa-branded payment card sales volume of merchants who opted out of the Amended Settlement Agreement with the Damages Class plaintiffs. On November 1, 2023, defendants served a motion to enforce the Amended Settlement Agreement, or in the alternative for summary judgment, regarding claims in the actions brought by certain plaintiffs in their capacity as payment facilitators. On December 4, 2023, plaintiffs in certain of the individual merchant actions served a motion for partial summary judgment or a joinder in partial summary judgment motions. On January 8, 2024, defendants’ motions for summary judgment under Ohio v. American Express were granted in part and denied in part. VE Territory Covered Litigation Europe Merchant Litigation Since July 2013, proceedings have been commenced by more than 1,150 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) against Visa Europe, Visa Inc. and other Visa subsidiaries in the UK and other countries 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 475 Merchants, and there are approximately 600 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. Other Litigation MiCamp Solutions On December 8, 2023, a complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by MiCamp Solutions, LLC against Visa on behalf of a purported class of Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) and their merchant customers and a purported subclass of ISOs. The complaint alleges violations of federal and state antitrust laws, state data privacy laws, and the constitution, based on, among other things, Visa’s interchange fees and its assessment of fees for non-compliance with its surcharge rules. The complaint seeks to recover damages and to enjoin the enforcement of Visa’s default interchange and surcharge rules, among other things. Mirage Wine + Spirit’s Inc. On December 14, 2023, a putative class action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois by Mirage Wine + Spirit’s Inc. against Apple Inc., Visa Inc. and Mastercard Incorporated on behalf of certain merchants in the United States that accepted Apple Pay as a method of payment at the physical point-of-sale from December 14, 2019. Plaintiff alleges a conspiracy under which Apple agreed not to enter a purported market for point-of-sale payment card networks services and seeks damages, injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees based on alleged violations of section 1 of the Sherman Act. On January 5, 2024, Visa requested transfer of the action to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings with the Interchange Multidistrict Litigation.

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