Mastercard warned by European Commission
21 December 2007
The European Commission has warned Credit Card giant Mastercard that it faced unprecedented daily fines if it didn't change its fee structure within six months.
Visa card didn't escape unscathed either with the European Union's competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes saying that she would reopen an inquiry into Visa's fees when the company's current five-year exemption from EU cartel rules expired at the end of 2008.
Kroes said that, "Consumers foot the bill, as they risk paying twice for payment cards: once through annual fees to their bank and a second time through inflated retail prices paid not only by card users but also by customers paying cash,"
Interchange fees hit the headlines in late November when the Reserve Bank of Australia co-hosted a conference in conjunction with the Centre for Business and Public Policy at the Melbourne Business School, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney.
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