Visa and Mastercard blame increased risk of fraud for post-Brexit fee hikes

In October 2021, Visa and Mastercard elevated cross-border interchange charges on purchases made by UK shoppers to European companies. Charges elevated from 0.2 per cent to 1.15 per cent for debit playing cards and 0.3 per cent to 1.5 per cent for bank card transactions.

The transfer has prompted uproar in UK parliament and led to a market evaluate by the Fee System Regulator, which says that it has not seen “proof that exhibits that there have been important modifications within the prices” for card issuers.

In July, the Treasury Choose Committee wrote to the cardboard schemes requesting a justification for the price hikes.

In response to the Committee, each firms argue that greater charges are justified by the better danger of fraud in cross-border transactions, and the prices incurred by banks to stop and detect such crime.

Visa and Mastercard additionally level out that they don’t profit immediately from price will increase, as it’s a buyer’s card issuer, reasonably than the cardboard cost system, who obtain the extra income from interchange charges.

Commenting on the responses, Mel Stride MP, chair of the Treasury Committee, says: “All companies, significantly small and medium sized corporations, are going through rising prices on many fronts, and the rise in cross-border card charges will solely add to those pressures. It’s important that these companies have each alternative to succeed and should not burdened with disproportionate further prices right now.”