EU cap on card fees is good news for businesses and consumers

MEPs have voted to introduce a cap on card payment fees that are charged to shops on behalf of credit and debit card schemes such as Visa and MasterCard. It is estimated that banks' card payments currently cost retailers across the EU over £8 billion each year.

The proposed caps will be 0.3% of the transaction value on credit card purchases and 0.2% for debit card purchases, and will apply to all cross-border and domestic purchases in the EU. This is expected to save retailers up to £5 billion a year, leading to lower prices for consumers.

Bill Newton Dunn, Liberal Democrat MEP for the East Midlands commented:

"These rip-off fees benefit card companies and banks, but it is consumers and small businesses that end up out of pocket.

"Introducing a cap will help lower retail prices and make it easier for hard-pressed businesses and families to get by.

"This is yet another example of why Liberal Democrats are the Party of In Europe, because leading in the EU means we can get a better deal for consumers back home."

MEPs today adopted their negotiating position, the final law still needs to be agreed with national governments in the EU Council and final negotiations won't be completed until after the European elections in May.

The full report can be found here: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?reference=2013/0265%28COD%29&l=en