Mastercard Refutes Wall Street Journal's Claims of Rising Credit Card Fees

In response to a Wall Street Journal article, Mastercard, the world's second-largest payment processor, denies plans to increase merchant credit card fees, calling the report a misunderstanding of industry terminology.

The executive chief officer of Mastercard refuted the claims in the WSJ credit card fees article. CEO Michael Miebach said the report about the hike in credit card interchange and network fees is untrue. As stated in the report, he reiterated that there will be no increase in merchant's credit card fees this year.

Miebach further explained that certain terminologies in the financial industry were used during an investor presentation, and the publication may have failed to comprehend them. He suggested that the paper could not differentiate between various fees, and as a result, it took the statements to mean an increase in fees.

The publication wrote in its article that "The fee increases are scheduled to start in October and April, according to people familiar with the matter." The newspaper also said it viewed documents detailing credit card fee hikes to support this information.

To clear misunderstandings, Mastercard published a press release to deny the reports. The company said, "Last Wednesday, several media outlets covered a story from the Wall Street Journal about "credit card fees and unfortunately, the story is wrong."

The credit card issuer added, "The reporting relies upon a report produced by an advisory firm advocating for legislation currently under consideration in Congress. We want to ensure the correct facts are associated with Mastercard and are understood. They are simple and clear."

In conclusion, Mastercard said again that it is not hiking up interchange rates in the United States this fall. It has no plans to do so in the near future as well.

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