MasterCard is being probed by European regulators in connection with the inter-bank fees the firm charges for processing transactions. The European Commission (EC) launched the investigation on April 9th, citing concerns that some of the company’s fee practices might be "anti-competitive."
The investigation will examine payments made by people from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) – the EU’s 27-member states as well as Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland – who use their credit and debit cards when inside the area.
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"When a US tourist uses a MasterCard to make a purchase in [the EEA], these fees can be quite high, generally much higher than those paid in Europe," EC spokesman Antoine Colombani said.
MasterCard said that it would "fully cooperate with the Commission".
In 2007 the commission banned MasterCard from charging multilateral interchange fees for cross-border transactions within the EEA. A court rejected MasterCard’s appeal last year but the firm has since appealed that judgement.
As well as inter-bank fees paid by cardholders from non-EEA countries, the Commission said the probe would look at rules that obliged merchants to accept all types of MasterCard cards, even if some of them incur higher charges.
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By GlobalDataThe probe will also look at MasterCard’s restrictions on merchants who wish to use banks outside their own country, which could be cheaper.
The EC said these fees and practices might restrict competition, with costs generally passed on to merchants, adding that "ultimately, such behaviour is liable to slow down cross-border business and harm EU consumers".
MasterCard reiterated that the firm "always aims to balance the interests of both consumers and retailers to ensure that each party pays its fair share of the costs for the benefits it receives."
Further to the investigation, the EC revealed its plans to propose a "regulation on inter-bank fees for card payments that will ensure legal certainty and a durable level playing field across the EU for all providers".
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