The interchange fee in Poland - charged for each non-cash, payment transaction made with Visa and MasterCard payment cards – was set within an illegal agreement of 20 Polish banks. The Court of Competition and Consumer Protection has confirmed the decision of the President of UOKiK

The judgment of the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection concerns decision of December 2006. The Office discovered that 20 banks had jointly set fees for transactions made with Visa and Mastercard payment cards – the so-called “interchange fee”.

As UOKiK established, artificially raised costs of transaction handling, borne by shops accepting cards meant higher costs for consumers - also those who paid with cash (commercial outlets do not differentiate prices depending on the payment form).

The case was reheard by the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection as a result of the judgment of the Court of Appeal. Yesterday, the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection confirmed the decision of UOKiK and stated that 20 Polish banks had entered into an illegal agreement. The court changed the amount of fines imposed on entrepreneurs to the level of PLN 44 335 196. The court’s judgment (XVII Ama 114/10) is not final - the banks may appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Additional information for the media:

Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Tel.: +48 22 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 430
Fax: +48 22 826 11 86
E-mail: [SCODE]bWFsZ29yemF0YS5jaWVsb2NoQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]