About: MasterCard

Europeans save up to €2 billion thanks to caps on bank cards fees

Bank cards fees for European merchants and consumers have decreased over the past years thanks to the new EU rules, generating savings of up to €2 billion annually, according to a European Commission report published this week.

Mastercard senior executive: ‘We want to help to achieve European sovereignty’

The European Commission will unveil later this year a strategy to integrate the retail payment sector in Europe and reduce dependency on third-country credit card firms. Mastercard, one of those players, is supportive of the EU strategy, its senior executive, Jason Lane, told EURACTIV.

Visa, Mastercard offer tourist card fee cut in EU antitrust probe

Visa and Mastercard have offered to trim the fees merchants pay on card payments by tourists in the European Union in an attempt to stave off possible fines after a long-running antitrust investigation, people familiar with the matter said.

Visa to defend tourists’ card fees at EU antitrust hearing

Visa will today (27 March) try to fend off European Union antitrust charges that it subjects foreign tourists to excessive fees when they use their cards in the EU, people familiar with the matter said.

Boosting e-commerce in the EU: drivers and barriers

E-commerce sales have been the main growth engine of the retail sector over recent years. However, according to the European Commission 75% of the Europeans use the Internet on a regular basis, while only 15% shop online from another country and only 7% of SMEs sell cross-border.

MasterCard international chief: ‘Brexit wouldn’t be a significant change for us’

Blockchain is expected to have a larger impact on our business than a potential Brexit, suggests MasterCard’s deputy boss, Ann Cairns. In her view, the technology behind virtual currencies like bitcoin is “a good thing for the future”, she told EURACTIV.com.

ECJ ruling exposes MasterCard to national antitrust probes

MasterCard broke EU antitrust law when setting interchange charges for cross-border card payments, the highest court of the European Union today ruled (11 September).

MEPs cap interbank fees

MEPs voted to cap interbank fees for all card payments on Thursday (3 April) , including business cards. EURACTIV France reports.

Putin ‘sanctions’ Visa, Master Card

President Vladimir Putin said today (27 March) that Russia would develop its own credit card system, in order to reduce reliance on Western payment card companies Visa and MasterCard and soften the potential blow from EU, US sanctions.

Card fee cap negotiations begin

The regulation of interbank card payment fees will be voted on in April. Despite support in Parliament, it is unclear whether the legislation will be adopted before the European elections.

Parliament backs caps on payment card fees

The economic and monetary affairs committee of the European Parliament voted on Thursday (20 February) in favour of caps to the fees charged by payment cards companies and banks on shoppers’ purchases, paving the way for the entry into force of the new legislation.

EU Court advised to rule against payment cards fees

A top legal official in the European Court of Justice yesterday (30 January) advised the EU judges to reject an appeal made by MasterCard over the fees it charges on payment transactions.

Brussels must scrap regulatory push on card-payment transactions

Europe would benefit from more, not less, dynamism, competition and innovation in payments if MEPs rejected the Commission's proposal for maximum interchange fee levels for transactions in the EU, writes Eric Grover.

Barnier slams ‘unacceptable’ MasterCard lobbying

The EU Commissioner for the internal market and services, Michel Barnier, told French journalists in Brussels yesterday (18 July), that he “was very struck by an unusual campaign – an American campaign” he faced from MasterCard.

MasterCard chief: ‘New card rules could discriminate’

The European Commission is poised to publish new payments rules covering ‘interchange’ fees, which are charged on card transactions. These could unfairly hit Visa and MasterCard, leaving rivals American Express and Paypal unfair market advantage, says the president of MasterCard Europe.

EU consults rivals, customers on Visa Europe probe

EU regulators asked Visa Europe's customers and rivals to assess its offer to cap inter-bank credit card fees at the same level as competitor MasterCard, a concession intended to end an antitrust investigation and avoid a possible fine.

EU to investigate MasterCard over card fees

EU regulators are investigating whether MasterCard's card fees for non-European cardholders and business practices violate EU antitrust rules, as they stepped up their fight against barriers to cross-border trade.

EU wins landmark ruling over credit, payment card fees

Mastercard lost a challenge to an EU ban on its cross-border card fees in a ruling that puts rival Visa Europe squarely in the sights of the European regulators over its charges.

Visa commits to 0.2% card fee cut

The European Commission announced yesterday (26 April) that it had reached an agreement with global card payment company Visa to reduce fees on its debit cards by 0.2%. Retailers, meanwhile, protested that the company's concession was too small.