As reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, the European authorities are expanding their antitrust investigation against Visa and Mastercard.
The European Commission’s antitrust division has sent questionnaires to payment terminal providers and fintech companies to determine whether the two largest operators are abusing their market position.
According to Bloomberg, the regulator is trying to answer three key questions: to what extent retailers have freedom of choice and whether they are obliged to work with Visa and Mastercard, how justified these fees are in terms of service quality, and how transparent they are.
If the companies’ actions show signs of abuse of dominance, the European Commission may initiate a formal investigation. In this case, companies risk a fine of up to 10% of their annual revenue.
This is the second stage of the investigation: a month ago, retailers and retail chains received similar questions. The formal reason for the inspection was the complaints received by the European Commission last fall, in which businesses expressed dissatisfaction with the level of fees charged by Visa and Mastercard for participation in their payment systems, Reuters has learned.
The two companies account for about two-thirds of all card transactions in the eurozone.
They set so-called scheme fees – charges for using their network infrastructure. Regulators are trying to understand how many such fees and additional services were introduced in 2017-2024, which ones are mandatory, how much advance notice companies give customers about new tariffs, and how well these notices are understood. Companies must also report whether complaints have been filed in the last seven years and how quickly they responded to the complaints.
Mastercard told Reuters that it provides “convenient, secure, and flexible payment methods.” At the same time, Visa emphasized that its fees reflect the value it creates for banks, merchants, and consumers, including high levels of fraud protection and system resilience.
European Commission officials declined to comment to Bloomberg on the details of the investigation, citing its active phase. They only confirmed that they have broad powers, including sending requests for information to market participants.
A source familiar with the situation told Reuters that the commission’s attention is now focused on whether all payment service providers are required to connect to these systems and how much fees have increased in recent years. The agency’s source said this may indicate an attempt to prove Visa and Mastercard’s dominant position in the market and possible abuse of it.
The European Commission expects responses to the questionnaires by June 2.