The European Commission’s decision in 2007, which said MasterCard’s cross-border multilateral interchange fee (MIF) levied on retailers’ debit and credit card transactions breached EU antitrust rules and had to be changed, has been upheld by the Europe’s second-highest court.
Introduced in 2007, the EU ban seeks to break down barriers to e-commerce and cut costs for businesses in the 27-country European Union, reports Reuters.
The General Court supports the prohibition of the multilateral interchange fees applied by Mastercard, confirming to the Commission’s decision.
MasterCard, however, will continue to apply reduced cross-border fees imposed since 2009 to comply with the 2007 decision and avoid penalty payments.
In Western Europe, 3 to 5% of the value of all card transactions is being accounted by cross-border credit and debit card fees, said MasterCard.
It was also reported that debit card charges were reduced by Europe’s largest card network Visa Europe in December 2010 to settle the Commission’s investigation, following a EuroCommerce’s complaint.
