EU targets CC fees

Neelie Kroes, the competition commissioner at the EU, delivered the interim findings of an EU inquiry into the industry and called the fees “outrageous”, targeting dominant brands in the market, as well as banks, with her comments.

She said: “What we are faced with is absolutely abnormal profits and is completely unacceptable.”

Ms Kroes went on to say that she was not against profit, but that competition was missing from the credit card market.

She continued: “It’s a closed shop and there’s no cross-border activity, and consumers and small firms are paying for it.”

A recent inquiry by the OFT found that Britons are paying up to £10 billion a year in higher bills and firms could now be fined up to ten per cent of their total turnover if the EU finds they are abusing their positions.