The European Commission accepted and made legally binding, on Monday 29 April, the commitments proposed separately by Mastercard and Visa to reduce their multilateral interchange fees on payments made in the European Economic Area (EEA) using consumer cards issued outside the EEA.
This decision echoes the Statement of Objections sent to Mastercard in July 2015 (see EUROPE 11355/18) and to Visa in August 2017. In these documents, the Commission expressed concern that the level of inter-regional interchange fees (inter-regional MIFs), which are determined by default and under certain conditions by both companies, potentially leads to an anti-competitive increase under EU law in the prices charged by European retailers for the acceptance of cards issued outside the EEA and, consequently, to higher prices for consumer goods and services in the EEA.
Inter-regional MIFs are commissions paid by banks for purchases in a store or online, when purchases are made in the EEA via a credit or debit card issued outside the EEA.
In order to address the Commission's concerns, the two companies have separately proposed commitments to reduce inter-regional MIF rates by an average of 40%.
The institution had invited interested parties to share their comments on these commitments last December (see EUROPE 12152/6). Following a review and the results of this consultation, the Commission considered that the commitments proposed by the two companies met its concerns. It has therefore decided to make them legally binding. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)