Visa Settlement! Win One for EU Competiton Commissioner Neelie Kroes

According to an April 2nd article published by Thomson Financial, Peter Ayliffe, chief executive of Visa Europe Ltd. “wants a ‘negotiated settlement’ with the European Commission over its cross-border interchange fees, adding that the payments card group seeks an agreement as soon as possible.”

While Mr. Ayliffe said “a settlement is the ‘right way forward,'” the larger question we have is why a localize an agreement?  Interchange fees are interchange fees and the rates in the EU are less than half the fees charged in the U.S.  Why are those rates “justified” in countries with sub-par technology and securities issues, when compared with the much higher fees in the U.S.?

More Holiday Cheer Planned For Merchants and Consumers

After more than two years and a non-stop battle against Visa, MasterCard and its member banks, we are pleased to be on the cusp of major news from our friends in Europe.

According to Bloomberg, “[t]he commission has been investigating MasterCard’s interchange fee for more than five years. MasterCard won’t be fined because it informed the EU about the fee, the commission has said previously.”

click here to read the entire article. 

“EU Seen Finding MasterCard Guilty Of Overcharges Wed-Sources” (via Dow Jones)

The European Commission is expected to tell MasterCard Inc. (MA) Wednesday that the fees it charges stores for international credit …

Click here to read article.

Reuters: “EU Executive Nears Ruling on Credit Cards”

According to Reuters, “Europe’s credit card industry expects a landmark ruling from the European Commission on fees this week that may determine the range of cards consumers will have in their wallets in future.  EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes is expected to say that MasterCard … must cut the so-called interchange fee it sets on the chain of banks that allow a customer to buy goods and services outside their home state, industry officials say.”

Click here to read Dec 16 Reuters article