Sustained pressure from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and its members has lead to the withdrawal of plans for a costly new approach to debit card charging.
For this new debit card MasterCard wanted to introduce percentage, or so-called ad valorem, fees. It wanted to charge a fixed fee of 3.5 pence plus 0.15 per cent of the purchase price. It would have meant higher card charges on any item priced above about 20.
“The withdrawal of MasterCard’s planned charging scheme is a victory for retailers and customers,” says BRC Director General Kevin Hawkins.