European Commission consults on commitments offered in Mastercard and Visa inter-regional interchange fees case

 

 

The European Commission is market-testing separate commitments offered by Mastercard and Visa to address competition concerns under Article 101 TFEU relating to their inter-regional interchange fees for debit and credit card payments. 

Inter-regional interchange fees are charged on payments made with cards issued outside the EEA for purchases made in the EU.  These payments are typically made by tourists.

The Commission's earlier decisions on Mastercard’s and Visa’s interchange fees have concerned multi-lateral interchange fees for payment cards issued in the EEA.

The Interchange Fee Regulation (Regulation 2015/751) does not apply to cards issued outside the EEA.

Mastercard and Visa, in separate offers of commitments, have both agreed to a cap on the level of their interchange fees (for a period of five years and six months) at 0.2% of the value of the transaction for debit cards and 0.3% of the value of the transaction for credit cards for card payments carried out in a store, and 1.15% and 1.5% respectively for online debit and credit card transactions.