/ 1 April 2009

EU drops legal action against Mastercard

The European Commission said on Wednesday it was dropping its antitrust case against MasterCard Europe after the group lowered fees on cross-border payments.

Europe’s top competition watchdog had threatened to fine the company if it did not bring down the fees it charges on cross-border transactions in Europe because it considers the levies to be unfairly high.

Under pressure from the commission, MasterCard came up with a new fee structure, which in particular will cut levies on consumer credit card transactions by more than half to 0,3% of the price of the purchase on average.

The fee on consumer debit card transactions will be reduced to 0,2% under the changes, which also aim to make the terms of using cards more transparent for merchants.

“With the changes … and assuming these commitments are kept, I see no further need to pursue MasterCard for infringing the antitrust rules,” EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes told a news conference.

“I am particularly satisfied that today’s changes come at a moment where we need increased efficiency in the banking sector, and when lower costs for merchants and consumers can be a real help out of the crisis,” she said.

In reaction, MasterCard said that the level of fees it was being forced to charge would not be high enough to encourage investment and innovation.

It said that the new fees were intended only to be temporary, while the company took legal action against the commission’s order to lower its rates or face fines.

“We believe we have strong arguments that the decision should be reversed,” MasterCard Europe president Javier Perez said in a statement. — AFP