CP25/3 Market review of card scheme and processing fees - Proposed directions | Payment Systems Regulator

https://www.psr.org.uk/publications/consultations/cp253-market-review-of-card-scheme-and-processing-fees-proposed-directions/
Success
Service Card Networking System 94% Acquiring 81%
Specialism Competition and Antitrust 92% Regulatory Reporting 78%
2026-02-26 15:54:13 · csoo@vixio.com
ID
2912075
GUID
1ae0d56b0e6aca63da261871c0411a4c

Classification

Service
Card Networking System (94%)

The update directly addresses regulatory directions on Visa and Mastercard card scheme fees, pricing governance, and transparency requirements, which are core card networking system regulatory matters.

Acquiring (81%)

The transparency and fee directions significantly impact acquirer costs and merchant onboarding practices, making acquiring a relevant secondary classification.

Specialism
Competition and Antitrust (92%)

The PSR is consulting on proposed directions to address anti-competitive card scheme fee practices by Mastercard and Visa, which directly targets market dominance and anti-competitive behavior in payment card markets.

Regulatory Reporting (78%)

The proposed remedies include mandatory transparency and pricing governance requirements that payment firms must implement, representing regulatory obligations on card scheme operators.

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TITLE: United Kingdom's Payment Systems Regulator Consults on Card Scheme and Processing Fee Directions BODY: On 19 December 2025, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published a consultation on proposed directions to address card scheme and processing fees in the United Kingdom market. The PSR's market review identified that Mastercard and Visa face limited competition, resulting in rising fees and insufficient transparency regarding card payment costs for businesses. In April 2025, the PSR published a remedies consultation (CP25/1) outlining four potential remedies. The regulator has now decided to implement two of these remedies and is consulting on their detailed form. The two proposed remedies are: the Information, Transparency and Complexity (ITC) remedy, which requires acquirers and merchants to receive clearer information about scheme and processing fees to improve understanding of charges; and the Pricing Governance remedy, which mandates that card schemes provide evidence demonstrating how pricing decisions are made, addressing the current absence of transparent pricing rationale. The PSR is proposing to impose specific directions on Mastercard and Visa to implement these remedies. The consultation documents include draft directions on pricing governance and information transparency measures. The regulator expects to consult on a draft direction for a third remedy—regulatory financial reporting—by 31 March 2026. The consultation is open to all stakeholders with an interest in United Kingdom card payments, including issuers, acquirers, card scheme operators, businesses and cardholders. Comments should be submitted to the PSR by 5pm on 13 February 2026. The PSR will consider responses before finalising the directions. REFERENCES: Payment Systems Regulator. (2025). CP25/3 Market review of card scheme and processing fees - Proposed directions. Available at: https://www.psr.org.uk/
  • Scraped:2026-02-26 15:54:13
  • Created:2026-02-26 15:54:12
  • By:csoo@vixio.com (59)