Singapore: Visa wins interchange fee battle amid legal war

Visa Worldwide won at least one battle in the interchange fees debate raging in various parts of the globe as the Competition Commission of Singapore ruled that Visa’s Multilateral Interchange Fee system does not violate competition law.

The CCS reviewed the system after Visa Worldwide had requested legal opinion on the plan, which sets in place a method for banks to pay for consumers’ use of rival banks’ cards. Those fees are eventually placed on the retailer that is swiping the card.

According to the CCS, the system does not harm competition in relevant markets. In a statement, assistant CEO of the CCS Toh Han Li said a review was conducted by “analyzing the state of competition” and, based on the results of the probe, the plan was not found to have a negative effect on the market.

Interchange fees are a hot-topic throughout many nations, especially in the US as Visa and MasterCard are currently waiting on a judge’s decision whether to accept or reject their record-setting settlement to end a class action case over such interchange fees, also called swipe fees.

Full Content: Channel News Asia

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