EU accepts Visa pledge on fees

Brussels regulators will next month accept Visa Europe's pledge to cut its debit card fees and drop anti-competition charges that could have brought a fine to the payments network, sources familiar with the case said yesterday.

The European Commission's decision follows a market test on Visa Europe's proposals in May. The EU watchdog had charged the credit and debit card network in 2009 for blocking competition with its debit fees. The Commission was expected to announce its decision on 8 December, one of the sources said.

More than 70 per cent of payment transactions through Visa Europe are with debit cards.