European Union Says Mastercard’s Fees Are Too High
BRUSSELS, July 9 (UPI) — The European Union released a statement Thursday saying Mastercard is overcharging customers through its fees.
The European Union is primarily concerned with Mastercard’s rules on “cross-border acquiring” and its “inter-regional interchange fees,” read the statement.
The first concern deals with Mastercard’s policy of preventing retailers in countries with high interchange fees from taking advantage of a bank with lower fees located in another EU member state. This policy stands in breach of EU antitrust rules and leads to higher costs for retailers and consumers.
The second has to do with the company’s method of charging higher fees for international use of cards.
The EU statement gives the example of a Chinese tourist who uses his card to pay a bill in Brussels. The tourist’s fees will be up to five times higher than those paid by a European cardholder for the same bill.
The European Union further believes that Mastercard’s methods trickle down to customers who pay for items with cash since retailers must still deal with the high credit card fees. It warns that should these accusations be confirmed, the EU may charge Mastercard a fine.
The EU previously led Mastercard to cap cross-border interchange fees to 0.20 percent for debit cards and 0.30 percent for credit cards in 2009. Thursday’s report, part of a longer investigation by the EU, accompanies another inquiry into Visa’s interchange fees.
Mastercard said it is working with the EU on this issue and preparing a formal response to the claims.
