Commercial card claim
“There is no purpose to the Multilateral Interchange Fee imposed by way of the Default Interchange Fee Rule that cannot be achieved through free market interaction”
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, Judgment of 27 June 2025 ([2025] CAT 37)
Commercial card claim
“[The Multilateral Interchange Fee] acts as an illegitimate and indefensible ‘baked in’ network effect in [Visa and Mastercard’s] ecosystem that undercuts and does not promote competition.”
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, Judgment of 27 June 2025 ([2025] CAT 37)
Commercial card claim
“Over the course of lengthy investigations in Europe going back many years and, more recently, litigation in the UK, multilateral interchange fees levied by Mastercard and Visa have been found to be anti-competitive, and therefore unlawful. Businesses have been affected by these fees to the tune of billions of pounds and deserve to be properly compensated.”
Jeremy Robinson, Competition Law and Regulation Partner at Harcus Parker
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Find out what the case is about and how to join
Mastercard and Visa are unlawfully imposing costs on business for accepting commercial card payments. If your business accepts card payments, this website will provide you all of the information you need to find out what the commercial card claim is about, whether your business can claim, and if so, how you can join.
THE CLAIM AGAINST MASTERCARD AND VISA FOR ANTICOMPETITIVE MULTILATERAL INTERCHANGE FEES
On 27 June 2025, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) made clear that: (i) the default Multilateral Interchange Fee (MIF) set on commercial cards unlawfully restricted competition ‘by object’ (i.e. a restriction by its nature so serious that anti-competitive effect can be presumed), and (ii) the MIF set on consumer cards unlawfully restricted competition ‘by effect’. This judgment found that Mastercard and Visa had breached competition law with their card schemes.
On 18 February 2026, the Tribunal would go on to find that a high level of this overcharge was passed on from acquirer banks to merchants, but virtually none from merchants to the end consumer.
We are now preparing for the next trial (October 2027) to determine if the card schemes can claim any legal exemptions that might reduce their liability, and the amount of damages payable.