The credit card provider Mastercard has to pay more than 500 million Euro fine. The EU Commission accuses the company of anti-trust law. As a result, the fees for retailers are in the height had been driven. the
The EU Commission has fined the credit card provider Mastercard is a money penalty in the amount of 570 million Euro. The reason, according to the competition authorities, excessive customer charges. Mastercard has acknowledged the violation and informed the authority, therefore, the penalty had been reduced by 10 percent.
Specifically, the so-called interchange fee. If consumers use a business credit card pays the merchant’s Bank to the Bank of the customer for a fee. The dealer Bank may transfer to the retailer, makes it into the final price. Thus, the cost of land, often in the customers.
Mastercard to prevent merchants from using more favourable to banks in other EU countries. “So the cost of card-driven payments at an artificially high level, to the detriment of the consumers and the retailers in the EU,” said EU competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. The EU Commission estimated that Mastercard was up in 2015, is in violation of EU antitrust law. According to the regulations of Mastercard and the merchant banks had to apply, until then, the charges of the country in which the retailer was located.
The inter-Bank fees have been offset by the end of 2015 in Europe. Until then, they differed considerably from country to country. Traders in EU member States with high fees have had to calculate, therefore, higher costs. The Brussels authority concluded that this led to an artificial restriction of the EU internal market and to a restriction of the cross-border competition.
