LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Mastercard's MA.N agreement to settle a landmark lawsuit brought on behalf of British consumers was approved by a London tribunal on Friday, despite opposition from the firm that funded the litigation.

The global payments processor said the Competition Appeal Tribunal had approved an agreement it announced in December to settle the long-running litigation over card fees for 200 million pounds ($253 million).

A Mastercard spokesperson welcomed the decision, saying in a statement: "We will continue to focus on providing consumers and businesses with what they expect from Mastercard – a great payments experience, strong value and peace of mind."

Innsworth Capital, which funded the litigation and argued the settlement should not be approved, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 200 million-pound deal was far below the 10 billion-pound valuation previously put on the lawsuit and the dispute over its approval was seen as a key test for Britain's burgeoning class action sector.

Innsworth argued the agreement was unfair and previously said the deal "raises significant policy questions for the regime in the UK as a whole".

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar)

((Sam.Tobin@thomsonreuters.com;))