EU: Credit, debit cards charging too much

Credit and debit cards such as Visa and MasterCard are racking up "abnormal" and "excessive" profits for banks, European Union antitrust chief Neelie Kroes said Wednesday.
"Paradise is over," she warned, telling the card industry to make changes or face antitrust investigations that could force them to reform their business or pay fines.
"The more the payment card industry does on its own initiative, the less they are likely to face action under antitrust rules," she said.
In its first report from a wide-ranging investigation into payment cards in Europe, the European Commission said customers are paying too much because the industry was still split along national lines and new card providers find it hard to set up shop. Credit cards are a "very profitable" business, it said. READ ON