September’s announcement by the UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) that MasterCard and the banks issuing its credit cards have been overcharging their customers returned the controversial topic of interchange fees to the consumer agenda. Action on interchange fees is also being taken in the US and Australia, and merchants are realising how much power they have in the payments market.
The average consumer or business tends to regard the interchange fee as an opportunity for financial organisations to get their hands on even more of their money. However, the situation is not quite that straightforward.
