Consumers being ripped off by bank charges

SHOPPERS are being ripped off by excessive bank charges for credit and debit cards and even cash customers end up paying more for goods as a result, according to a major report.

Ireland’s Laser card was a serious offender, charging merchants higher fees for processing payments than almost any other country in Europe, but they have recently cut these charges.

The report drawn up by the European Commission’s competition division was a litany of abusive bank practices for credit and debit cards and for banking generally.

Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes described some of the practices as outrageous.

But in the end the ordinary consumer is paying for all the charges, she said.

Irish retailers wait up to three days to receive their money from the bank from a credit or charge card transaction, the second longest in the EU according to the study.