BRUSSELS, Belgium – MasterCard last week said it is suspending interchange fees it charges for cross-border transactions in Europe to avoid potential fines by the European Union, which found its fee structure violated the EU’s antitrust regulations for 15 years.
The EU ruling is part of a struggle between MasterCard and Visa and regulators, which claim the two card companies set interchange fees in violation of the EU’s antitrust standards.
MasterCard said it will continue negotiations with the EU over its interchange fee methodology and will continue to pursue an appeal of the EU ruling with the European Court of First Instance.
The move comes as the U.S. Congress is debating whether to open the huge $42 billion a year market for card interchange fees to greater competition by allowing retailers to negotiate their own fees directly with the card companies. MasterCard and Visa have joined credit unions and banks to fight the congressional initiative, saying the legislation is tantamount to regulating the market.
CUNA said several credit union executives were joining bankers to lobby Congress against the bill later this week.
