BRC slams planned hike in Visa card charges that could add around £20m to UK retailer costs, potentially driving up prices on the high street.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called on Visa to justify its charges, as it announced its 'card scheme fees' will increase by as much as 142%.

According to the organisation, the charges are non-negotiable fees paid by retailers' banks and card processors, in order to part of the Visa card network.

A UK credit card used in the UK, will see a percentage fee increase of 31%, with a fixed fee element of 142%, while a UK debit card used in the UK will see a 52% increase in percentage fee and a 142% increase in the fixed fee element.

Another charge used by Visa is the interchange fee - an additional fee paid by the retailer to the card issuer on each Visa transaction. This is currently under investigation by the European Commission and the Office of Fair Trading and the BRC fears that, facing possible restrictions on these fees, Visa is looking for huge increases in its other charges to compensate for any loss of revenue.

BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: "Visa's card scheme fees hike is totally unjustified. At a time when technological advances have dramatically reduced the cost of processing card transactions, we'd expect card charges to fall - not shoot up.

"Retailers are already dealing with tough trading conditions and shoppers are also watching the pennies. As Visa ramps pits fees, it will hit retailers at a time when they can least afford it, while pushing up shop prices and hurting cost conscious customers."

Mr Robertson concluded: "Visa's fees should be transparent and must only include charges that truly reflect the costs involved in processing transactions."