Capital One Shopping Affiliate Marketing Settlement: $20 or Full Commission Reimbursement
By Steve Levine
Published: February 17, 2026
Settlement Value: ~$4 million (plus business practice changes)
Payout: $20 flat or full commission reimbursement — claim form required
Claim Deadline: April 17, 2026
If you are a blogger, YouTuber, social media influencer, or any kind of affiliate marketer who earned commissions by promoting products online between January 2020 and December 2025, this settlement may apply to you. Capital One has agreed to pay approximately $4 million to resolve allegations that its Shopping browser extension diverted affiliate commissions from content creators.
The claim deadline is April 17, 2026.
What Did Capital One Shopping Allegedly Do?
Capital One Shopping (formerly known as Wikibuy) is a free browser extension used by approximately 10 million consumers to find coupon codes, compare prices, and earn rewards. The lawsuit alleged that the extension was designed to override affiliate tracking codes during the checkout process.According to the plaintiffs, here's how the alleged scheme worked: a consumer would click your affiliate link and get directed to a merchant's website. When that consumer reached checkout, the Capital One Shopping extension would activate, refresh the page, and replace your tracking cookie with Capital One's own affiliate identifier. This made it look like Capital One — not you — had referred the customer. Capital One then collected the commission you should have earned.
If you ever noticed unexplained drops in your affiliate commissions or conversion rates, especially with major retailers, this may be why. The entire point of the lawsuit is that you would not have known this was happening — the extension silently replaced tracking codes at checkout.
Capital One denies these allegations and maintains that its Shopping extension is an industry leader that works closely and transparently with its affiliate network and advertising partners. The court has not decided who is right. The parties agreed to settle.
What Is Affiliate Marketing? (For Readers Who Are New to This)
Affiliate marketing is how many content creators earn money online. When a blogger writes a product review and includes a link to buy the product on Amazon, that link contains a unique tracking code. If a reader clicks the link and makes a purchase, the blogger earns a small commission — typically a percentage of the sale price. The same system works for YouTubers who put product links in their video descriptions, Instagram influencers who share swipe-up links, coupon websites, and anyone else who promotes products through trackable links.The tracking works through "cookies" — small data files stored in the shopper's browser that tell the retailer which affiliate referred the customer. The lawsuit alleges that Capital One Shopping was replacing these cookies with its own, effectively stealing the credit (and the commission) for the sale.
Who Qualifies?
You qualify if all three of the following are true during the class period (January 6, 2020 through December 18, 2025):1. You participated in an affiliate commission program with an online merchant (through networks like Amazon Associates, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, Rakuten, Impact, Awin, or any other affiliate network).
2. That merchant also partnered with Capital One Shopping. Capital One Shopping works with over 30,000 retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Target, eBay, Best Buy, Sephora, Nike, and thousands more.
3. Capital One Shopping was involved in one or more of your transactions — meaning the extension activated during a checkout that started with your affiliate link.
This covers bloggers, YouTubers, Instagram and TikTok influencers, coupon and deal website operators, product review publishers, cashback platforms, email newsletter publishers, podcast hosts who share affiliate links, and any individual or business entity that earned commissions through affiliate marketing.
You do not need to prove the commission diversion yourself. When you file a claim, you provide your affiliate identifiers and the settlement administrator searches Capital One Shopping's internal data for matches. If your data appears in their records, you qualify. If it doesn't, you receive nothing — but there is no downside to filing.
What Can You Get?
There are two payment options. You can receive only one.Proof Payment (full commission reimbursement). If the administrator finds one or more qualifying transactions in Capital One Shopping's data where a consumer clicked your affiliate link before Capital One's, and Capital One received a commission that may have been inconsistent with industry standards, you receive the full amount of commissions Capital One earned on those transactions — but only for transactions posted on or after November 1, 2023. This could be $20, $200, $2,000, or more depending on your volume. If your Proof Payment calculates to less than $20, you receive the $20 Alternative Payment instead.
If your affiliate data is only associated with transactions posted before November 1, 2023, you are not eligible for a Proof Payment but can still receive the Alternative Payment.
Alternative Payment ($20 flat). If you submit a valid claim and your affiliate identifiers are found in Capital One's data but you don't qualify for or receive a Proof Payment, you get a flat $20.
An important detail: the total amount paid to all valid claimants and individual payments will not be reduced by the number of people who file claims. Your payment is not diluted.
How to File a Claim
File online at InfluencerMarketingClaims.com or mail a claim form to the settlement administrator. The deadline is April 17, 2026.To complete the claim form, you will need: your name and contact information (address, phone, email); your Social Security Number or Taxpayer ID Number (required for tax reporting — the IRS requires the administrator to issue a 1099 if your payment meets reporting thresholds); information showing you partnered with a merchant that also partnered with Capital One Shopping through the same affiliate network; and your affiliate identifiers including trade name, publisher ID, affiliate ID, URLs (short and long form), and click IDs.
The administrator will only search Capital One's data for the identifiers you provide. The more complete your claim form, the better your chances. Click IDs are not required but are described as an important piece of evidence for demonstrating ownership and eligibility. If you leave fields blank, the administrator may not be able to locate your transactions even if they exist.
File Your Claim
Are Amazon, Walmart, and Target Affiliates Eligible?
Yes to all three. Amazon, Walmart, and Target are among the major retailers where Capital One Shopping operates. One named plaintiff specifically participated in Amazon's affiliate platform, and another had affiliate links with Walmart. If you promoted products from any major online retailer through affiliate links during the class period, there is a strong chance that retailer also partnered with Capital One Shopping.What Business Practice Changes Is Capital One Making?
Beyond the money, Capital One has committed to implementing or maintaining for at least two years several changes. Capital One will use best efforts to ensure the Shopping extension complies with stand-down rules established by affiliate networks and merchants. ("Stand-down rules" are policies that require tools like Capital One Shopping to not override an existing affiliate's tracking code when a consumer arrived through that affiliate's link.) Capital One will formalize a process to periodically review and monitor compliance with those rules. Capital One will also designate an ombudsman with a published email address as a point of contact for merchants, networks, and publishers to raise concerns.Is This the Same as the Capital One Data Breach Settlement?
No. This is a completely different case. The Capital One data breach settlement related to the 2019 hack that compromised personal information of Capital One customers. This settlement is about the Capital One Shopping browser extension and its alleged interference with affiliate marketing commissions. Different case, different class members, different claims.Important Dates
• Class Period: January 6, 2020 – December 18, 2025
• Settlement Value: ~$4 million (plus business practice changes for at least 2 years)
• Claim/Opt-Out/Objection Deadline: April 17, 2026
• Final Approval Hearing: June 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM — U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Courtroom 900, 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314
Attorneys' Fees
Settlement Class Counsel (Hausfeld LLP, Berger Montague PC, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, and Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP) will request up to $3,950,000 in attorneys' fees and costs. The court must approve this request. The amount awarded to lawyers does not reduce the compensation paid to class members.What Happens If I Do Nothing?
If you do nothing, you receive no payment. You will still be bound by the settlement, which means you give up the right to sue Capital One over the affiliate commission claims in this case. Capital One will still implement the business practice changes regardless.How Do I Find Class Action Settlements?
Find all the latest class actions you can qualify for by getting notified of new lawsuits as soon as they are open to claims:Case Information
The case is In re Capital One Financial Corporation, Affiliate Marketing Litigation, No. 1:25-cv-00023-AJT-WBP, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, before Judge Anthony J. Trenga.Defendants: Capital One Financial Corporation, Wikibuy LLC, and Wikibuy Holdings LLC.
Class Representatives: Ahntourage Media LLC, Just Josh, Inc., Storm Productions LLC, TechSource Official, and ToastyBros, LLC.
Settlement Class Counsel: James J. Pizzirusso (Hausfeld LLP, Washington DC), E. Michelle Drake (Berger Montague PC, Minneapolis), Douglas J. McNamara (Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Washington DC), and Norman E. Siegel (Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP, Kansas City).
Settlement Administrator: Epiq, P.O. Box 2019, Portland, OR 97208-2019. Email: info@InfluencerMarketingClaims.com.
Settlement Website: InfluencerMarketingClaims.com
Settlement Notice
Sources
• Class Action Settlement Notice, In re Capital One Financial Corporation, Affiliate Marketing Litigation, No. 1:25-cv-00023-AJT-WBP (U.S. District Court, E.D. Va.)• Settlement Website: InfluencerMarketingClaims.com
Filing Class Action Settlement Claims
Please submit only truthful information when filing your claim. If you are unsure whether you qualify, contact Class Counsel or the Settlement Administrator. OpenClassActions.com is a consumer news site and is not the settlement administrator or a law firm.
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Submit Claim| Class Action Summary | |
| Status | Pending Final Approval — Claim Form Required |
|---|---|
| Settlement Value | ~$4 million + business practice changes (2 years) |
| Proof Payment | Full commission reimbursement (transactions Nov 1, 2023+) |
| Alternative Payment | $20 flat (if data found but no Proof Payment) |
| Category | Affiliate Marketing / Browser Extension / Commission Theft |
| Defendants | Capital One Financial Corp., Wikibuy LLC, Wikibuy Holdings LLC |
| Who Qualifies | Affiliate marketers, bloggers, YouTubers, influencers, coupon sites, review sites |
| Class Period | January 6, 2020 – December 18, 2025 |
| Case Number | 1:25-cv-00023-AJT-WBP |
| Court | U.S. District Court, E.D. Virginia |
| Judge | Anthony J. Trenga |
| Claim/Opt-Out/Objection Deadline | April 17, 2026 |
| Final Approval Hearing | June 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM — Alexandria, VA |
| Attorneys' Fees | Up to $3,950,000 (does not reduce class payments) |
| Settlement Website | Influencer Marketing Claims Site |