- $425 Million Settlement: Capital One agreed to a $425 million class-action settlement over its online “360 Savings” accounts reuters.com classaction.org. The deal splits into roughly $300 million in cash payments to affected account holders and $125 million to boost interest rates for savers who keep their accounts open kpel965.com 1 .
- Who’s Eligible: You qualify if you had a Capital One 360 Savings account (not the newer 360 Performance Savings) at any point from Sept. 18, 2019 through June 16, 2025 classaction.org reuters.com. Joint or co-owners of such accounts count too. New 360 Performance accounts were introduced after Sept. 2019 with much higher rates (up to 4.3% by 2024), while 360 Savings rates were frozen near 0.30% reuters.com 2 .
- Claim Process & Deadline: No claim form is needed, but eligible customers must act by Oct. 2, 2025 capitalone360savingsaccountlitigation.com classaction.org. You should have received a notice (by mail or email) with a unique ID and PIN. Log in at the official settlement site (capitalone360savingsaccountlitigation.com) by Oct. 2 to select your payout method (direct deposit or check) classaction.org capitalone360savingsaccountlitigation.com. Checks will only be mailed if a payout exceeds $5; smaller amounts require choosing an electronic payment option.
- Extra for Account Closures: If you close or convert your 360 Savings account (to a 360 Performance Savings) on or before Oct. 2, you’ll get a one-time cash payment about 15% larger than if you keep it open capitalone360savingsaccountlitigation.com classaction.org. However, staying open beyond Oct. 2 means you’ll still get additional interest payments later (through the $125 M fund) at boosted rates (at least twice the national average) kpel965.com 3 .
- Criticism by Regulators and States: N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James and 17 other states have urged a judge not to approve this settlement reuters.com ag.ny.gov. They note depositors lost roughly $2 billion in interest, while the typical saver would only get about $54 under the deal – a tiny fraction of the roughly $717 they lost reuters.com ag.ny.gov. The states argue the settlement would let Capital One keep over $2.5 billion in unpaid interest without changing its deceptive practices reuters.com 4 .
- Capital One’s Position: Capital One “strongly denies” any wrongdoing but says the $425 M settlement is “reasonable” given litigation risks reuters.com americanbanker.com. A company spokesman stated the bank settled to avoid prolonged court battles. Plaintiffs’ lawyers likewise call it “one of the biggest” bank settlements and “a good deal” for savers, given the risks of going to trial reuters.com 5 .
- Next Steps: A federal judge will hold a final-approval hearing on Nov. 6, 2025 classaction.org americanbanker.com. Payments to eligible customers can only be distributed after the court signs off and any appeals are resolved classaction.org americanbanker.com. In the meantime, eligible accountholders must use Oct. 2 as their deadline to pick how they want paid.
Capital One’s $425 million settlement stems from a years-long fight over alleged bait-and-switch tactics. The crux of the case is that Capital One promoted its “360 Savings” account as a top high-yield product, yet kept its rate locked at about 0.30% even as national rates climbed. At the same time, the bank quietly introduced a nearly identical “360 Performance Savings” account, which did pay much higher interest (reaching 4.3% by early 2024) reuters.com consumerfinance.gov. Existing 360 Savings customers were largely kept in the dark – for example, Capital One reportedly removed most references to the old account on its website and even barred employees from telling customers about the new higher-rate account consumerfinance.gov. In January 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Capital One for this very scheme, estimating it cost consumers over $2 billion in lost interest consumerfinance.gov. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra blasted the bank for “cheating families out of billions” by baiting them with impossible promises 6 .
However, the CFPB case was dropped in early 2025 (the agency withdrew its lawsuit shortly after a leadership change) americanbanker.com, leaving the field to private plaintiffs and state regulators. A class-action lawsuit filed in Virginia (MDL No. 1:24-md-03111) alleged that Capital One “deceptively marketed” the 360 Savings as the bank’s flagship high-yield account while surreptitiously funneling better rates to new Performance Savings customers capitalone360savingsaccountlitigation.com consumerfinance.gov. Meanwhile, New York AG James filed her own fraud suit in May 2025 against Capital One, claiming the bank “baited and switched” 360 Savings accountholders and underpaid them by the billions ag.ny.gov 4 .
Under the settlement terms reached in May 2025, Capital One will put $300 million into a fund for one-time payments and earmark $125 million for future higher interest payments to current 360 Savings holders kpel965.com classaction.org. Payments will be calculated based on how much extra interest each customer would have earned during the period if their account had received the higher 360 Performance rate classaction.org. For example, someone who had $10,000 in a 360 Savings account from late 2019 through mid-2025 might get a pro-rata check reflecting the lost interest on that sum (multiplied by the class payout factor). There is no claim form to file – all eligible class members will get a payout automatically. However, to actually receive it you must visit the official website and choose how to get paid. Capital One customers who got a notice should log in at capitalone360savingsaccountlitigation.com (using the ID and PIN from the notice) and select either electronic transfer (direct deposit, PayPal, Zelle, etc.) or a mailed check classaction.org capitalone360savingsaccountlitigation.com. The site notes that if you do nothing by Oct. 2, you will still get paid by check only if your payout is $5 or more; amounts under $5 will be forfeited unless you choose an electronic method capitalone360savingsaccountlitigation.com 7 .
Critics – led by NY AG James – say this deal is unfairly stingy to consumers. In an amicus brief opposing the settlement, James and 17 other state AGs noted that Capital One would still pocket over $2 billion of the interest it dodged paying ag.ny.gov. They calculate the typical depositor lost around $717 in promised interest, but under the settlement would only get less than $54 ag.ny.gov reuters.com. “Capital One customers worked hard for their savings, only to be misled and cheated out of billions of dollars in interest,” James said ag.ny.gov. She and her colleagues argue the settlement lets Capital One “continue underpaying and deceiving” savers without forcing the bank to change its misleading marketing practices ag.ny.gov. Their brief calls the agreement “fundamentally flawed” and urges the court to reject it americanbanker.com 8 .
Supporters of the deal note the legal risks. The settlement’s backers – including class counsel and Capital One – argue that going to trial could have dragged on for years. Capital One spokesman said the bank “strongly denies” the allegations, but settled to avoid “the risks and uncertainties associated with prolonged litigation” reuters.com americanbanker.com. Plaintiffs’ attorney Philip Black echoed that view, calling the pact “one of the biggest [class-action settlements] ever against a bank” and “a good deal” for accountholders given the uncertainties of trial and appeal reuters.com 5 .
Legal experts point out that one consequence of the settlement is it may bar or reduce further consumer recoveries. Professor Alexandra Lahav of Cornell Law School notes that “a person cannot collect twice for the same injury,” meaning customers who get paid once here might not be paid again in New York’s case americanbanker.com. UC Law professor Scott Dodson adds that the New York lawsuit could proceed in theory, but any restitution ordered for customers should likely be offset by what they already receive from this class settlement 9 .
What’s Next: A federal judge has scheduled a final-approval hearing on Nov. 6, 2025 classaction.org americanbanker.com. If the judge certifies the settlement and denies any objections, the settlement administrator will begin distributing payments according to each claimant’s chosen method. If appeals are filed, they could delay payments further, but the goal is to start issuing checks and transfers within about 90 days after final court approval classaction.org capitalone360savingsaccountlitigation.com. In any case, the absolute deadline to participate is Oct. 2, 2025 – after that date eligible account holders will lose the chance to claim their portion of the fund capitalone360savingsaccountlitigation.com 10 .
Sources: Settlement documents and official site capitalone360savingsaccountlitigation.com classaction.org; New York Attorney General press release ag.ny.gov ag.ny.gov; Reuters and American Banker reporting reuters.com americanbanker.com; CFPB press release consumerfinance.gov; legal analysis in newswire sources americanbanker.com 11 .
