On 11th April, the Spanish Tribunal for the Defence of Competition (TDC) has rejected the authorization asked by Spanish banks for the collective fixing of interchange fees (IF) the issuing bank charges to the merchant bank for processing a credit card transaction.

The decision is unique in the EU, since VISA International obtained clearance from the Commission for cross border transactions with credit cards, and banks have obtained clearance for domestic IF charges in a number of national jurisdictions. (more…)