A Wawa settlement of a data breach exposing customer information has received preliminary approval from a federal judge.

The settlement would require Wawa to pay customers up to $9 million in gift cards and cash, writes Christian Hetrick for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter gave initial approval Friday and provisionally determined who would qualify for the settlement.  Final approval is still pending.

The judge’s approval clears the way for Wawa to notify customers. Customers would have until November to submit claims, opt out, or protest the deal.

Wawa is setting up a website to accept claims.

The settlement ends the class-action case in U.S. District Court, involving 22 million members who used a credit or debit card at a Wawa between March 4, 2019 through Dec. 12, 2019.

Most qualifying customers will receive $5 to $15 gift cards. Other consumers could receive up to $500 if they can demonstrate financial loss from the breach.

Wawa has also agreed to spend $35 million to improve cybersecurity.

“We will release further details, including timing of notifications for customers, in the coming days,” said Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce.

Read more about Wawa in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

A man and his son talk about their first-ever visit to a Wawa.