EU Attacks MasterCard’s ‘Mad Campaign’ to Derail Card-Fee Curbs
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MasterCard Inc. waged a “mad campaign” to derail caps on card fees, the European Union’s financial services commissioner said today as he unveiled plans to slash charges by 6 billion euros ($8 billion) a year.
Michel Barnier said MasterCard used misleading information in its lobbying against proposals to cap interchange fees at 0.2 percent for debit card payments and 0.3 percent for credit cards. The limits target card systems also operated by Visa Europe Ltd. where banks charge each other interchange fees, or swipe fees, for handling payments.