May 29 (Reuters) - Visa and Mastercard ( MA ) have

agreed to pay $197 million to resolve a class action by millions

of consumers accusing the financial payment companies of keeping

cash access fees artificially high.

The plaintiffs' lawyers revealed the proposed accord on

Wednesday in a filing in Washington, D.C., federal court. The

settlement involves consumers who withdrew cash from

bank-operated ATMs since 2007.

Two other related class actions - one from consumers who

used non-bank ATMs and a third from businesses that own

independent ATMs - are pending in D.C. federal court.

The proposed deal is subject to court approval. The

defendants have all denied any wrongdoing.

Visa will pay $104.6 million in the accord, and Mastercard ( MA )

will pay $92.8 million, the settlement papers showed. The bank

defendants earlier settled claims for $66 million.

Visa and Mastercard ( MA ) did not immediately respond to requests

for comment.

The plaintiffs' attorneys said the settlement will "deliver

immediate and assured relief."

The plaintiffs in the three cases said Visa and Mastercard's ( MA )

ATM network rules caused them to pay artificially higher amounts

for access fees. Collectively, they were seeking damages of more

than $9 billion.

The resolution comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in April

turned down an appeal from Visa and Mastercard ( MA ) challenging a

lower court judge's ruling allowing the groups of plaintiffs to

band together to sue as class actions.

Visa and Mastercard ( MA ) had argued that the judge failed to

conduct a "rigorous analysis" before certifying the

class-actions.

The proposed settlement class was estimated to have at least

175 million members.

Consumers will have a chance to object to the terms of the

settlement, including the amount of the fund and any legal fees

that awarded

Visa and Mastercard ( MA ) are defendants in a long-running legal

proceeding in Brooklyn federal court over claims that they

overcharged merchants and others in transactions involving debit

and credit cards.