MasterCard

The Turkish Competition Board has initiated an investigation into global payment giants Mastercard and Visa over allegations of anti-competitive practices in Türkiye.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa on Sept. 24, alleging the company illegally maintains a monopoly over the use of debit cards in the United States.

The value of payments by credit and debit card rose 12.5% in the second quarter (April-June) of 2024 to over €18.8 billion.

The number of transactions by card rose 15.2% to 629.2 million.

The numbers include transactions made abroad with cards issued by Greek banks.

Digital Debit Cards Covering Accommodation, Dining, and Local Transportation Expenses – Eligible Citizens

POS transaction service providers are being forced to cut their fees in an attempt to prevent a legislative intervention from the government.

Taxpayers can now use foreign-issued bank cards to pay their taxes online, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) has announced.

The AADE said that Visa and Mastercard cards issued by foreign banks can also be used to pay the ENFIA property tax, administrative fees, boat taxes, among others.

The high fees for card transactions whether through POS or e-commerce are an international problem that has mobilized the relevant regulatory authorities.

Economy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis intends to raise the issue of fees for the use of credit or debit cards during his meeting next week with representatives of the two payment-technology corporations MasterCard and Visa, in an attempt to contain the costs of plastic money, especially for product categories with a small profit margin, such as tobacco, newspapers etc.

The value of transactions with plastic money reached 62 billion euros in 2023, recording an increase of 15% compared to 2022, a rate that is expected to be maintained this year with a marginal slowdown, according to estimates by Mastercard, assessing the positive macroeconomic environment and, in particular, the universal mandatory introduction of point of sale devices (POS) in 35 new professio

The European Commission wants to make online transactions faster and safer by making immediate payments the main option to pay for online items or simply transferring money. The EU's proposed law aims to make quick payments a barrier to the dominance of international systems such as Visa and MasterCard, as well as the entry of large internet companies into the payments sector.