Brussels, 28/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has invited comments from stakeholders on Visa Europe's proposed commitments regarding multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) and other rules applied to transactions with debit cards. The MIF is a bank-to-bank fee for card payments, collectively fixed by Visa Europe's member banks, and ultimately paid by consumers. The Commission feared that Visa's MIFs might restrict competition between merchants' banks. In response to these concerns, Visa Europe has proposed to reduce to 0.20% the maximum weighted average MIF for all crossborder transactions and for national transactions with debit cards in a number of member states. The ceiling will also apply separately in each of the EEA countries for which Visa Europe directly fixes specific MIF levels on the same market segment. It also proposes to maintain and further develop measures which will increase transparency and competition in the payment cards market. These commitments are valid for four years and include a review mechanism. If the outcome of the market test indicates that the proposed commitments are suitable to remedy competition concerns, then the Commission may adopt a decision which would make the commitments legally binding on Visa Europe. (F.G./transl.jl)