Visa, MasterCard Agree to Slash Interchange Fees in France

LONDON -- Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. agreed to cut their interchange fees in France by nearly half through an agreement with the French competition authority, according to a Finextra report.

Starting Nov. 1, both credit card companies will charge merchants a maximum of 0.28 percent of the amount of the transaction to process a payment. This is a 44-percent decrease from Visa's current average charge and a 49-percent decrease from MasterCard's current charge.

Additionally, both companies will cap charges for ATM withdrawals at 55 cents. Visa currently charges 75 cents, while MasterCard charges 60 cents.

Following implementation of the deal, Visa and MasterCard's fees will be in line with the French interbank network Groupement des Cartes Bancaires, which struck its own deal in 2011, and the European Commission's plans to cap fees for both domestic and international transactions, according to the report.

In the United States, such fees will remain capped at 21 cents pending the Federal Reserve's appeal of U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's July decision to strike down the current swipe fee rules, as CSNews Online previously reported.