Visa says transaction fee in Europe stays for now

BRUSSELS, June 13 (Reuters) - Visa Europe will continue to levy charges on cross-border transactions using its payment cards even though rival MasterCard (MA.N) has announced it is suspending its equivalent fee to avoid European Union fines.

"Yesterday's announcement has no impact on Visa Europe's interchange fees," a Visa Europe spokesman said.

One euro in every nine spent by consumers in Europe changes hands via one of Visa Europe's 350 million cards.

"We are in ongoing talks with the European Commission about how we set our interchange in future, and these continue. We would like to reach agreement with the European Commission in the near future," the spokesman added.

The EU executive last December said MasterCard's multilateral interchange fee on cross-border payment card transactions using MasterCard and Maestro cards had violated EU rules on fair competition for 15 years.

It gave MasterCard six months -- until June 21 -- to change its fee structure for international card transactions, or face daily fines.

MasterCard is continuing its appeal against the Commission's decision at the European Court of First Instance, the EU's second-highest court.

EuroCommerce, a retailer lobby, has campaigned for years to get rid of what it dubs a tax on consumption.

It estimates interchange fees cost consumers 8 to 10 billion euros ($12.3 billion to $15.3 billion) a year in Europe.

The Commission opened an antitrust investigation into Visa Europe's interchange fee in March, but the company has said the 0.7 percent charge was justified on cost grounds.

Visa's fee was exempt from EU competition law from 2002 to December last year. (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Dale Hudson)