A proposed collective action filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal claims that Visa and Mastercard overcharged UK businesses on online payments made with cards issued in the European Economic Area. The claim is valued at around €800 million, and because it is an opt-out case, many UK merchants could be included automatically. Nothing has been decided, but it is a good prompt to look closely at what you pay on EU card transactions.

What has been filed

According to The Paypers, the proposed claim is brought by Ann Pope, a former senior director at the Competition and Markets Authority, and is represented by Geradin Partners. It covers roughly 126,000 UK businesses that have accepted online payments from EEA-issued cards since October 2020. The schemes have not been found liable, and the tribunal still has to decide whether the case can proceed as a collective action.

The background is the fee increases that followed Brexit. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has reported that Visa raised UK-EEA online card-not-present fees fivefold in October 2021, with Mastercard following in April 2022, taking consumer debit from 0.2% to 1.15% and consumer credit from 0.3% to 1.5%. We covered the regulatory side in our piece on cross-border interchange caps.

What opt-out means for your business

In an opt-out collective action, eligible businesses are included in the class unless they choose to withdraw. You do not need to do anything to be part of it, but you should understand your position before deciding. This is general information, not legal advice, so speak to a solicitor if you want to weigh up staying in, opting out or pursuing your own claim.

  • Check eligibility: the class is aimed at UK businesses that took online payments from EEA-issued cards since October 2020.
  • Gather your records: keep merchant statements and processing reports covering that period, as the volume of EEA card-not-present sales will matter.
  • Watch for tribunal notices: timetables for opting out are set by the tribunal, so keep an eye on official notices rather than third-party marketing.
  • Do not rely on a payout: outcomes are uncertain and could take years, so do not build compensation into your forecasts.

The cost question you can act on today

Whatever happens at the tribunal, the fees are being charged now. If you sell to customers in Europe, the cross-border cost on those transactions can be well above your domestic rate, and on a blended or bundled tariff it is often hidden. A statement that separates interchange, scheme fees and acquirer margin lets you see exactly what EEA cards cost you. With IC++ pricing that breakdown is built in; on a blended rate, ask your provider to show how EEA transactions are treated and whether your rate assumes a domestic card mix.

It is also worth checking your sales data. If EU cards make up a meaningful share of your online turnover, a small difference in how those payments are priced can add up quickly. Compare it with your card processing fees on UK-issued cards so you know the real premium.

How Monek approaches it

Monek is an FCA-regulated payment provider (FRN 920628) with pricing from 0.99% blended, IC++ pricing for higher-volume merchants and next-day settlement. Our UK payment gateway includes a free WooCommerce plugin, Virtual Terminal, Pay by Link and native Xero integration, which makes it easier to see and reconcile what you pay. If you take online payments from European customers and want to understand your true cost per transaction, talk to our team for a no-obligation rate comparison.