Retail giants revolt against Visa and Mastercard *

Some of Europe’s largest retailers and e-commerce platforms are urging the European Commission to clamp down on Visa and Mastercard, accusing the payment giants of inflating fees and harming fair competition within the bloc’s payments market.

In a letter sent on May 13 to key EU officials — including the Commission’s antitrust chief Teresa Ribera, financial services commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque, and economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis — major retail associations claim that Visa and Mastercard have quietly increased their fees over recent years without sufficient regulatory oversight.

“International Card Schemes (ICS) have been able to increase their fees without competitive challenge or regulatory scrutiny,” the letter states. It also criticizes the companies for creating a complex and opaque pricing structure, making it nearly impossible for merchants to understand or contest what they’re being charged.

The issue isn’t new. Visa and Mastercard collectively handle about two-thirds of card payments in the eurozone and have long faced retailer complaints over scheme fees and transparency. A 2024 report by The Brattle Group, cited by the retailers, found that ICS fees rose by a cumulative 33.9% between 2018 and 2022 — an average of 7.6% per year — outpacing inflation and without any corresponding improvements in services for merchants or consumers.

Among the signatories to the complaint are EuroCommerce, Ecommerce Europe, Independent Retail Europe, the European Association of Corporate Treasurers, and the European Digital Payments Industry Alliance. Their members include major names like Aldi, Amazon, Carrefour, eBay, H&M, Ikea, Intersport, Marks & Spencer, Worldline, Nexi and Teya.

The letter calls on the Commission to:

Enforce antitrust measures against Visa and Mastercard
Cap scheme fees and modify rules on interchange fees
Impose new transparency and non-discrimination requirements on card schemes
Provide regulators with new tools to monitor ICS practices

The tension comes as the EU continues exploring the development of a digital euro, partially as a way to reduce reliance on US-based payment providers. However, the slow progress on this digital currency has frustrated both policymakers and businesses eager for more diverse and competitive payment options.

Bonus Insight

While Visa and Mastercard remain dominant in Europe, emerging fintech players and local payment systems — like Sweden’s Swish, the Netherlands’ iDEAL, and Belgium’s Bancontact — are gaining traction. Yet, these systems largely remain country-specific, and a unified EU alternative has yet to materialize, making the bloc’s reliance on US firms a persistent concern.