MasterCard Gets EU Antitrust Complaint Over Fees

MasterCard Inc. has received an antitrust complaint from the European Commission over concerns that it is “artificially raising” card-payment fees.

The EU’s statement of objections targets measures thwarting cross-border competition among banks that offer card services to retailers as well as excessive fees when foreign visitors go shopping in the 28-nation bloc, the commission said in a July 9 e-mailed statement.

“We currently suspect MasterCard is artificially raising the costs of card payments, which would harm consumers and retailers in the EU,” according to Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

EU antitrust officials have targeted swipe fees on credit cards and debit ...