EU Court Rejects MasterCard Claim That Fees Benefit Cardholders

MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) said Thursday it will appeal a decision by Europe's second-highest court rejecting the credit card company's argument for cross-border credit card fees, Reuters reported.

The court, which took issue with MasterCard's claim that cross-border fees benefit consumers, upheld a European Union ban on such fees.

The methods of setting the MIF (multilateral interchange fee) tended to overestimate the costs borne by the financial institutions on issuing payment cards and, moreover, inadequately to assess the advantages which merchants derive from that form of payment, the judgment said, according to Reuters.

New York-based MasterCard issued a statement saying that it intends to appeal the decision by the Luxembourg court.

The MIF for debit cards will be at 0.2 percent, and 0.3 percent for credit cards, half of the previous level, according to Reuters.

MasterCard shares rose $7.91 to $425 in midday trading.