EU investigation to probe Mastercard fees "Mastercard is being investigated by the European Commission over fees charged for card transactions made by people visiting Europe." Perhaps some good news for visitors, although I expect it will take some time before we see the results.
Posted by
2081 posts
hi, it really makes no difference. from what i understand, banks can write their own fees. take one away, they will add one someplace else. happy trails.
Posted by
OP
Bern, Switzerland
977 posts
My reading of this is that a lot of the additional charges arise as a result of they way Mastercard requires the merchant to process the transactions. Only time will tell if the outcome benefits the traveller.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23245 posts
My reading is that it is the fees that are charged the vendors and not the customers so I doubt if there will be any impact on the traveler.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32198 posts
I tend to agree with Ray. If the banks or credit card firms are fined, they'll simply add another fee somewhere else to recoup their money. The C.C. firms DON'T lose money so it will always be the consumer that pays in the end. That's how they can afford the generous salaries of $10 million+ per year to their C.E.O.'s. In this part of the world, the C.C. firms are floating an idea to have consumers pay the merchant portion of the transaction fee.