Leading European retailers and e-commerce platforms have appealed to the European Commission to address what they describe as excessive and opaque fees imposed by Visa and Mastercard, alleging the charges undermine the EU’s competitiveness and hurt alternative payment systems.
In a letter dated May 13 and seen by Reuters, major industry groups such as EuroCommerce, Ecommerce Europe, and the European Digital Payments Industry Alliance — whose members include Aldi, Amazon, Carrefour, eBay, H&M, Ikea, and Marks & Spencer — asked EU regulators to intervene under antitrust rules. They claim Visa and Mastercard have increased their fees by nearly 34% between 2018 and 2022, with no corresponding improvements in service quality for merchants or consumers.
The retailers argue that the U.S. card giants dominate two-thirds of eurozone card payments and have created a complex, non-transparent fee system that hinders scrutiny or competition. The growing frustration over these practices has also revived interest in EU-backed alternatives like the digital euro, although progress on such initiatives remains slow.
Visa responded by defending its fee structure, saying it reflects high-value services such as fraud protection, operational reliability, and customer support. Mastercard did not issue a comment on the matter.
The letter was addressed to key EU officials, including antitrust chief Teresa Ribera, financial services commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque, and economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis. The signatories are calling for:
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Regulatory action under EU antitrust laws,
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Revised interchange fee rules with price caps,
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Mandatory transparency and non-discrimination rules for card schemes, and
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A monitoring tool for regulators to oversee card network practices.
This latest appeal intensifies pressure on Brussels to tackle U.S. dominance in the EU payments sector and promote more equitable digital financial infrastructure across the continent.