The UK Payment Systems Regulator published a consultation on the methodology for developing a permanent price cap on cross-border interchange fees in October 2025. The action follows Visa and Mastercard's post-Brexit increases that raised UK-EEA cross-border interchange rates from 0.2% to 1.15% (debit) and 0.3% to 1.5% (credit) - a fivefold increase costing UK businesses an estimated GBP 150-200 million per year.
Legal Challenges Defeated
Mastercard, Visa, and Revolut challenged the PSR's legal authority to impose cross-border caps. The High Court ruled in the PSR's favour in January 2025, and the companies lost a further appeal in January 2026, definitively confirming the PSR's regulatory powers.
Scheme Fee Remedies
Separately, in December 2025, the PSR issued directions addressing non-interchange scheme and processing fees - which had risen at least 25% since 2017, costing businesses GBP 170 million extra annually. The remedies require pricing transparency and governance reforms from both card networks.
What This Means
The UK is emerging as the most accelerated card fee regulator globally. The PSR is addressing both interchange fees (cross-border cap) and scheme fees (transparency remedies) simultaneously - a dual-front approach no other regulator has attempted. For Visa and Mastercard, the UK market's fee economics could change significantly by 2026-2027.