To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support businesses that have lost revenue from cross-border card payments because of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Answered on
21 June 2021
With the UK no longer part of the EU single market, any changes in cross-border interchange fees between the UK and EU, as between the UK and third countries, are a result of commercial decisions by card schemes.
The Government has legislated to ensure that card payment interchange fees remain capped for UK domestic card transactions, where both the card issuer and acquirer are located in the UK, through the Interchange Fee (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 made under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The levels of UK interchange fee caps are at the same levels as before the end of the Transition Period.
Regarding the cost of card payments more widely, the Payment Systems Regulator is currently carrying out a market review into card acquiring services. Its review is examining how effectively competition is working in the provision of these services, including looking at the fees businesses pay for card payments and the quality of service they receive. The interim findings were published on the 15th September 2020, and the final report and remedies are due to be published later this year.