The commission plans to put a 0.2% ceiling on all consumer debit as well as on credit card transactions, which will be presented following completion of a two-year transition period where the ceiling applies only to cross-border fees.
The move will reduce total EU debit card fees from approximately €4.8bn to €2.5bn, and credit card fees from €5.7bn to €3.5bn, as per the EU calculation, reported the Financial Times.
Citing the proposal, the news agency said, "High [fees] paid by merchants result in higher final prices for goods and services, which are all paid by consumers."
Under the proposed regulatory framework, the payment card schemes and companies engaged in process transactions will have to separate their operation.
Warning the EU against its proposed move, the payments industry has cautioned that the move would result in increase in the banking fees for consumers instead of reducing the retail prices.
