Brussels questions MasterCard fees

MasterCard should make its fee structure more transparent and understandable for retailers, the European Commission has argued.

In a preliminary view from an ongoing investigation into charges made under the credit card system, Brussels said that interchange fees should not make a profit for Mastercard, but should cover its costs in serving retailers and consumers.

The Commission said: 'Retailers have no choice but to accept MasterCard payment cards. The fees for this system have been steadily rising. This could indicate that MasterCard has unlimited discretion to set the interchange fees at a revenue-maximising level.'