(15 January 2026 – United Kingdom) Mastercard, Visa and fintech Revolut have failed in a legal challenge against the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), after the High Court ruled that the watchdog has the authority to cap interchange fees on cross-border online card payments.
The case followed a 2024 decision by the PSR to proceed with price caps on the fees charged to UK merchants when European customers make online purchases using Visa or Mastercard. The three firms argued that the regulator lacked the legal power to impose such caps, a claim rejected by Judge John Cavanagh in London’s High Court.
“We welcome the High Court’s decision, which confirms our powers to ensure card payment costs are fair for UK businesses and consumers,” said David Geale, managing director of the PSR. “This enables us to drive forward the work we have been doing to ensure cross-border interchange fees are set at an appropriate level.”
Visa, Mastercard and Revolut have not yet commented on the ruling.
When announcing its plans in 2024, the PSR said that following Brexit, Visa and Mastercard increased cross-border interchange fees between 2021 and 2022 by around five times — from 0.2 percent to 1.15 percent for debit cards and from 0.3 percent to 1.5 percent for credit cards. The regulator estimates the increases have added £150–200 million a year to UK businesses’ costs.
The PSR has since consulted on how an appropriate cap should be calculated and said the outcome will shape its next steps.