Interchange Fees in Card Payments

Abstract:     
The present paper explores issues surrounding multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) in payment card markets from various angles. The Eurosystem’s public stance on interchange fees is neutral. However, the Eurosystem takes a keen interest in facilitating a constructive dialogue among the stakeholders involved in this debate. Transparency and clarity with respect to the real costs and benefi ts of different payment instruments are indispensable for a modern and harmonised European retail payments market. Interchange fees (if any) should be set at a reasonable level so as to promote overall economic efficiency in compliance with competition rules.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 58

Keywords: Trade credit and debit cards, retail payment systems, two-sided markets, interchange fees

JEL Classification: G21, D43, L13

working papers series