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EU opens antitrust proceedings against Visa Europe

Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:45am EDT

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BRUSSELS, March 26 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it had opened antitrust proceedings against Visa Europe Ltd over the interchange fees the company charges for cross-border consumer payment card transactions.

A statement by the European Union executive said Visa Europe, owned by 4,600 banks that have issued 348 million cards, was suspected of breaching EU rules "which forbid restrictive business practices such as price fixing".

Visa Europe said in January it hoped for a deal with the EU executive to keep its interchange fee on transactions despite a Commission competition ruling in December against rival MasterCard's (MA.N) interchange fee, which retailers must pay when a customer uses a card to make a purchase. (Reporting by Paul Taylor, editing by Dale Hudson)



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