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EU executive drops case against MasterCard fees
Friday April 17th 2009
Mastercard and the Commission remain at odds over the fundamental question of whether the industry's current approach to multilateral interchange fees is justifiable but Mastercard has again demonstrated that it takes the Commission's enforcement powers seriously and that it is looking for a pragmatic, low-risk solution.
Mastercard took the radical step of withdrawing its interchange fee i n June last year to avoid penalties but has now reached a temporary solution that allows the system to operate pending the resolution of its appeal against the Commission's December 2007 decision (that MasterCard's cross-border transaction fees broke European Union antitrust rules). The Commission remains of view that interchange fees harm consumers, but clearly accepts that a lower fee is less harmful.
Andrew Chandler is a Partner at international law firm Eversheds
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