EU plan to cut credit and debit card fees is confirmed 24 July 2013 Last updated at 10:52 Plans to cut transaction fees on debit and credit cards in the European Union have been published - but there is disagreement over the potential impact. The European Commission estimates that the EU payment market is worth 130bn euros (£112bn) but is "fragmented and expensive." It wants to cap "interchange fees" to a maximum of 0.3% of a transaction. Retailers say customers could ultimately benefit from lower prices in the shops as a result of the proposals, which could take years to implement. Cap on fees On average, debit card transactions cost the retailer 9p each, or about 0.2% of the bill. [This will] finally put an end to the unjustified high level of these fees End Quote Joaquín Almunia Vice President, European Commission Under the plans, debit card interchange fees would be capped at 0.2%, and credit card fees at 0.3%. "The proposed changes to interchange fees will remove an important barrier between national payment markets and finally put an end to the unjustified high level of these fees," said EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier. European Commission competition chief Joaquin Almunia said: "The interchange fees paid by retailers end up on consumers' bills. Not only are consumers generally unaware of this, they are even encouraged through reward systems to use the cards that provide their banks with the highest revenues. The British Retail Consortium, which represents shopkeepers in the UK, has welcomed the plan, arguing that if retailers pay lower fees, they can pass those savings on to customers. The proposals are part of a series of measures aimed at tightening up the payments market across the EU.