MasterCard and Visa agree fee plan

MasterCard International and Visa International have agreed to European Commission demands to publish the fees they charge for cross-border transactions, making it easier for retailers to negotiate fees with banks.

The two credit card companies’ fees are paid by shops for the goods and services they sell.

“Visa and MasterCard recently, and separately, informed the commission they will publish their multilateral interchange- fee rates for European cross-border transactions on their websites,” the commission, the European Union’s antitrust regulator, said in a statement.

Last October, the commission sent a list of objections to MasterCard about the fees it charges for cross-border transactions and said the lack of price transparency may break EU law.