Overview

• UK's Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) proposes capping EU-UK fees charged by Visa and Mastercard at 0.2% and 0.3% for debit and credit card transactions respectively.
• Since Brexit, Visa and Mastercard have increased their charges five-fold, to 1.15% and 1.5% for debit and credit cards, costing UK businesses up to £200m a year in extra costs.
• PSR claims that businesses have little choice but to accept Mastercard and Visa, which account for 99% of all UK debit and credit card transactions.
• Mastercard and Visa dispute the PSR's findings, arguing that the higher fees are necessary to combat greater risk of fraud in overseas transactions.
• The PSR will now solicit feedback on its proposals, proposing the 0.2%-0.3% cap as an interim level, and says a permanent cap could adjust this.