A London tribunal has ruled that Visa and Mastercard’s multilateral interchange fees violate European competition law, delivering a major blow to the global payment giants and a significant win for hundreds of merchants who brought legal action over what they called excessive charges.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) delivered the unanimous ruling on Friday in the latest chapter of a long-running legal battle over the fees that merchants are charged whenever customers pay using credit or debit cards.
The case was brought by a coalition of retailers represented by law firm Scott+Scott, which argued that the card networks colluded in setting anti-competitive “default” interchange fees—charges that merchants pay to the cardholder’s bank with every transaction.
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“This is a significant win for all merchants who have been paying excessive interchange fees to Visa and Mastercard,” said David Scott, global managing partner of Scott+Scott, in a statement following the ruling.
Companies Push Back, Vow to Appeal
Both Visa and Mastercard swiftly signaled their intention to challenge the verdict.
A Visa spokesperson defended the company’s practices, saying: “Visa continues to believe that interchange is a critical component to maintaining a secure digital payments ecosystem that benefits all parties, including consumers, merchants and banks.”
Meanwhile, Mastercard dismissed the decision as “deeply flawed.”
“Mastercard strongly disagrees with today’s decision… and will seek permission to appeal,” a company spokesperson said.
The ruling specifically targets the multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) applied to both commercial card transactions and inter-regional payments—which have historically been defended by the card giants as necessary for balancing interests within the payment system.
However, the CAT found that the fees were not individually negotiated and instead set by the card schemes at default rates—restricting competition and forcing merchants to absorb higher transaction costs.
Friday’s decision is especially significant because it is the first time a court has ruled that Visa and Mastercard’s commercial and inter-regional interchange fees breach competition rules, according to Scott+Scott. The ruling adds new pressure on the companies, who have faced similar antitrust scrutiny in the European Union, United States, and other jurisdictions for more than a decade.
At the heart of the dispute is the role of interchange fees, which typically range from 0.2% to 0.3% of the transaction value in many regions, but can be higher for certain card types or cross-border payments.
The European Commission had previously ruled that such fees were anti-competitive, prompting regulatory caps in the EU in 2015. However, the UK ruling focuses on historical fees and commercial cards, which have often been exempt from such regulatory caps, especially in inter-regional transactions involving non-European banks.
Legal Victory with Geopolitical Implications
Although rooted in antitrust, the ruling carries broader geopolitical weight. It comes amid escalating trade tensions between the EU and the United States, driven by President Trump’s imposition of blanket 20% tariffs on key European exports. In April, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that if the bloc failed to negotiate its way out of the tariffs, “all options are on the table,” including targeting U.S. Big Tech firms.
Brussels’ growing frustration with what it sees as U.S. protectionism has translated into sharper scrutiny of large American companies operating in Europe. The decision against Visa and Mastercard—both headquartered in the U.S.—is already being viewed by some analysts as part of a wider regulatory push by Europe to balance trade imbalances through enforcement actions.
The MIF ruling adds to a series of high-profile enforcement actions by the EU against U.S. tech giants in recent years.
While Friday’s ruling determines liability, a second trial is still pending to decide whether any overcharges were passed on by merchants to consumers—an issue that could influence potential damages or settlement amounts. This second phase is critical, as it will determine how much compensation, if any, the retailers are entitled to.
Given Visa and Mastercard’s plans to appeal, the case is unlikely to conclude anytime soon. But the decision marks a milestone in what could become one of the most consequential legal fights over interchange fees in the UK—and potentially across other jurisdictions eyeing similar actions.
If the ruling is upheld on appeal, Visa and Mastercard could face massive financial liabilities and renewed pressure to overhaul their fee structures in both commercial and cross-border markets.
