In December, the European Commission antitrust authority, the Directorate General Competition, ruled that MasterCard’s interchange fees are illegal. (I realize it is now mid-January, but I wasn’t blogging when it the ruling came out.) MasterCard is, of course, appealing.
Although ruling this made page 4 of the Wall Street Journal, it has gotten very little attention otherwise in the business or general press. ( The ruling has huge ramifications for consumers and merchants. The underlying issue is technical, however, but well worth understanding.