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.

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

JEL Classification: G21, D43, L13