The European Union (EU) has filed formal charges against MasterCard over artificially raising card payment costs in Europe.
If proved, the charges that have been filed following a two-year probe could lead to penalties of up to 10% of MasterCard’s global annual revenue.
The European Commission said that the company’s rules prevent banks from providing lower interchange fees to retailers based in another EU member state.
This in turn, could restrict retailers from benefitting from lower fees elsewhere and dampen competition between cross-border banks.
EU has also accused the firm of charging an artificially high minimum price to overseas cardholders for card payments in the EU.

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By GlobalDataMasterCard said in a statement that it was cooperating with the probe "as part of an ongoing constructive dialogue" with EU regulators.
The commission is slated to make a final ruling after considering MasterCard’s arguments.