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ARTICLE · 04 JULY 2006

MasterCard interchange fees – EU and UK competition developments

CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang
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The European Commission announced on 30 June 2006 that it has sent a supplementary Statement of Objections (SO) to MasterCard in relation to its cross-border interchange fees (fees paid by merchant banks to card issuing banks for over the counter payments with a MasterCard or Maestro branded payment card).

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
Susan Hankey
Susan Hankey
Nick Paul
Nick Paul

The European Commission announced on 30 June 2006 that it has sent a supplementary Statement of Objections (SO) to MasterCard in relation to its cross-border interchange fees (fees paid by merchant banks to card issuing banks for over the counter payments with a MasterCard or Maestro branded payment card).

The supplementary SO sets out the Commission’s preliminary view that the interchange fees may infringe EU competition law as they pre-determine a minimum price retailers must pay for accepting MasterCard and Maestro branded payment cards. This supplements a previous SO issued by the European Commission in autumn 2003, which raised concerns about the interchange fee possibly being set above costs and lack of transparency in the fee structure to retailers.

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