Millions of people could be entitled to up to £70 each following the final approval of a £200 million settlement against payment card provider Mastercard.
The decision follows a long-running legal case brought forward by former financial ombudsman, Walter Merricks, who launched a legal claim in 2016.
Mr Merricks argued that consumers were charged higher prices after fees were wrongly levied on transactions made between 1992 and 2008.
He believes around 46 million shoppers in the UK were overcharged during that 15-year period. Fees were paid by the retailers accepting Mastercard, which were then passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Customers did not necessarily have to own a Mastercard during that period to be eligible for compensation.
Mastercard declined to comment on the court ruling.
Commenting on the outcome of the court case, Mr Merricks said: "I started this case because I believed that Mastercard’s fees paid by retailers for processing card transactions had been unlawfully high and virtually all UK consumers had lost out for long by periods paying higher prices than they should have done as retailers passed on those costs.
"As the evidence came to be known through the litigation process, this was the position only in a relatively small proportion of transactions and the settlement reflects that.
“The settlement that has today been finally approved represents a fair and just outcome for UK consumers. On any view, recovering £200million by way of a settlement for UK consumers is a huge sum, and that will translate into a meaningful impact in the pockets of UK consumers.
"During the long course of the case which involved winning a key Supreme Court decision, I have established important precedents to ensure that other collective actions that have followed mine, will have a greater prospect of succeeding.
"And I am pleased to have forged this new path towards a UK regime that allows consumers to get meaningful access to justice, and that will act as a deterrent to companies from acting unlawfully. I am proud to have achieved a substantial settlement sum, indeed the largest settlement for a group of UK consumers through the English courts."
Consumers are eligible to claim for compensation if they lived in England, Wales or Northern Ireland for at least three months between June 1997 and June 2008 and bought goods or services that accepted Mastercard credit cards.
Mr Merricks said that people could receive a pay out by completing an online form.
Any unclaimed cash is expected to go to the company that funded the lawsuit.
