Brussels, 21/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 21 January, the national ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) approved the inter-institutional agreement on the regulation laying down maximum levels for interchange fees (MIFs) for debit and credit card payments (see EUROPE 11221).
For all credit card payments, the maximum level is set at 0.3% of the value of the transaction.
For all debit card payments, the maximum level is set at 0.2% of the value of the transaction. For national payments, however, and subject to certain conditions, the member states will be able to authorise a per transaction interchange fee of no more than 0.05 euros in combination with the 0.2% cap. Moreover, during a transition period of five years, they will be able to apply the upper limit of 0.2% calculated on the annual weighted average of all domestic debit card transactions within each payment card scheme.
The payment schemes set in place by the companies Diners and American Express have been exempted from applying the MIF, subject to conditions. (MB)