Government intervention “threatens the continued
development of payments” in the EU, according to MasterCard
Europe’s president, Javier Perez.
Perez voiced his concern following Mastercard’s
appeal against the European Commission’s 2007 decision on the
company’s cross-border consumer interchange fees in the EEA.
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“What is at stake in this case is the future
direction of European payments – whether or not consumers and
businesses will have more or fewer choices in how they want to pay,
and whether payment methods in the EU will remain world class,”
said Perez.
“Why is the Commission trying to fix what isn’t
broken? The market is moving fast and in ways that no one,
including regulators, can easily predict,” Perez added.
Further pointing out the tremendous change in the
payments industry since 2000, when the Commission first began to
examine interchange fees, the case, according to Perez, highlights
the role of interchange as “the most transparent and efficient way
to achieve the right balance among all participants in the
system.”
MasterCard’s multilateral interchange fees (MIF)
is a charge levied on every payment processed at a retail outlet.
In 2007, the European Commission ruled out the MIF, citing
violation of EC Treaty rules on restrictive business practices
(Article 81). According to the Commission the charge was inflating
the cost at which cards are accepted by retailers, without proven
efficiencies.
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