British Retail Groups urge UK Gov to tackle ‘excessive card costs’

The BBC has revealed that allegations of ‘excessive fees’ have been levelled at both Visa and Mastercard, by British Retail Groups

The warnings come as the impact of the fees is likely to be felt by consumers through increased charges, at a time when economic insecurity is heightened by the pandemic. 

Speaking to the BBC, head of finance policy at the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Andrew Cregan stated: “It is vital that the government takes action to tackle excessive card costs. If a phone or energy company increased their fees by such an amount there would uproar.

“It’s an abuse of a dominant market position by these companies. They’re two of the most profitable organisations in the world and they’ve got merchants over a barrel.”

The UK news outlet also reported that a Visa spokesperson responded by emphasising: “Visa enables millions of merchants throughout the UK to access the benefits of digital payments, giving them the ability to reach billions of potential customers both in their local communities and across the globe. Visa has delivered to UK consumers some of the most secure and innovative payments solutions available anywhere in the world.”

A Mastercard spokesperson added: “Card-based payments continue to grow in popularity with consumers as they offer unrivalled convenience, security and protection.

“More shops and businesses are also adopting them either for the first time or in new contactless or digital formats, as they too benefit from faster, more efficient and secure payments, which in turn generates significant value for their businesses.”