TITLE: United Kingdom's Payment Systems Regulator Invites Comments on Merchant Survey Questionnaire for Cross-Border Interchange Fees Review BODY: On February 26, 2026, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) invited stakeholders to comment on a draft questionnaire that will be used in a merchant survey on cross-border interchange fees. The PSR has appointed IFF Research to conduct the survey of United Kingdom merchants to gather data on their costs for processing online payments from the European Economic Area using cards or alternative payment methods. The survey results will inform a Merchant Indifference Test (MIT), which will assess the appropriate level for cross-border interchange fees for these transaction types. The PSR updated the questionnaire following responses to its October 2025 consultation on methodology for developing a price cap remedy. The revised questionnaire now focuses on specific alternative payment methods that could plausibly be used in the MIT analysis. These include payment methods based on SEPA bank transfers (including iDEAL, Przelewy24, Blik, Bancontact, Sofort/Klarna Pay in full, Trustly and SEPA direct debit), PayPal, and Klarna's 'Pay in 30 days' product. The PSR decided not to collect information on American Express, as competition between American Express and four-party schemes means its merchant fees are influenced by Mastercard and Visa's interchange fees, making it unsuitable for MIT analysis without distortion. The PSR notes that the q ... (1803 chars total)

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 wit ... (1927 chars total)