Lucrative fees to process card transactions are to be capped under a proposal by the EU’s executive arm aiming to draw a line under a decade-long battle with payment groups such as Visa Europe and MasterCard.

根据欧盟执行部门的一项提议，处理银行卡交易的高昂收费将被规定上限。这一提议的目的是为其与Visa欧洲(Visa Europe)和万事达(MasterCard)等支付集团的10年斗争画上句号。

Under a draft European Commission plan, seen by the Financial Times, a ceiling would be introduced for charges on all consumer debit and credit card transactions, scaling back a large revenue stream for banks.

根据英国《金融时报》看到的欧盟委员会(European Commission)的一份计划草案，所有消费者借记卡和信用卡交易的收费都将规定上限，此举将挤压银行的一大营收来源。

The measure stops short of a full ban on debit card fees, a more far-reaching intervention envisaged in earlier drafts. Even so, the assault on fees would be a setback for the payments industry, which has warned it would raise banking fees for consumers rather than cut retail prices.

该计划没有完全禁止借记卡收费，后者是早期版本所设想的影响更为深远的干预措施。即便如此，欧盟对收费“开刀”将使支付行业遭遇一个挫折，该行业已警告称，将提高针对消费者的银行服务费，而非下调零售价格。

In addition, the draft plan requires payment card schemes and the entities that process transactions to be legally separated – a forced split that would remake the business model for Visa and MasterCard.

此外，该计划草案要求经营支付卡计划和处理交易的实体在法律上分开，这种强制拆分将改写Visa和万事达的业务模式。

The move to regulation is the culmination of years of trench warfare between EU authorities and payment providers, which resulted in pacts with Visa and MasterCard to limit cross-border transaction fees.

出台法规之举，标志着欧盟主管部门与支付服务提供商之间的多年拉锯战进入最后阶段。这些年的对抗已导致Visa和万事达同意限制跨境交易收费。

The Commission proposes a 0.2 per cent ceiling on all consumer debit transactions and 0.2 per cent cap on credit card transactions, introduced after a two-year transition period where the ceiling applies only to cross-border fees.

欧盟委员会提议对所有消费者借记卡交易规定0.2%的收费上限，对信用卡交易规定0.2%的收费上限。这些上限将在为期两年的过渡期结束后正式实施，过渡期间上限仅适用于跨境交易收费。

According to Commission estimates, this cuts EU debit card fees from €4.8bn to €2.5bn, while credit card fees fall from €5.7bn to €3.5bn. “High [fees] paid by merchants result in higher final prices for goods and services, which are all paid by consumers,” the proposal said.

根据欧盟委员会的估算，这将使欧盟境内的借记卡收费从48亿欧元降低至25亿欧元，信用卡收费从57亿欧元降低至35亿欧元。“商家支付的高昂费用造成商品和服务的最终价格较高，而支付这一切的是消费者，”欧盟提案表示。

The cap is broadly based on the proposed antitrust deals with Visa and MasterCard and aims to give “legal clarity” but it reaches deeper into domestic card markets, where fees can vary widely. Typical debit card fees range from 0.1 per cent in Denmark to 1.6 per cent in Poland. Average credit card rates in Germany stand at 1.8 per cent, compared to 0.5 per cent in France.

上限大致上基于欧盟与Visa和万事达拟议达成的反垄断协议，目的是提供“法律清晰度”，但它更深入地干预国内卡市场，这些市场目前收费标准相差较大。一般而言，借记卡交易收费在丹麦为0.1%，在波兰为1.6%。信用卡交易平均收费在德国为1.8%，在法国为0.5%。

A cap would disappoint Commission hawks who pushed for an outright ban on debit card fees and broader credit card measures so that premium commercial cards were also covered.

上限规定将使欧盟委员会内部的强硬人士感到失望，他们曾推动彻底禁止借记卡收费，并推出覆盖面更广的信用卡措施，纳入高端的商业信用卡。

An early Commission impact assessment argues that relying on a cap is harder to enforce and risks forcing existing domestic payment schemes with low fees to raise their rates.

欧盟委员会早先进行的一项影响评估称，规定上限的执法难度较大，并有可能迫使目前收费较低的现有国内银行卡计划提高费率。

Most consumers are unaware of the charges. The Commission fears card schemes compete to attract issuing banks with better revenues, which drives fees up rather than down. Consumers are encouraged to take cards with rebates, free insurance and air miles, generating higher fees for banks. Banks and payment groups attack a cap as heavy-handed. Card use would decline, cardholder fees would rise, loyalty benefits would be cut back and retailers would be unlikely to pass on savings, they warn.

多数消费者根本不知道有这些收费。欧盟委员会担心，这些卡片计划竞相用更好的营收来吸引发卡银行，从而推高（而不是压低）收费。消费者被鼓励申请有回扣、免费保险或飞行里程的卡，为银行产生较高收费。银行和支付集团抨击规定上限的措施是高压手段。它们警告称，刷卡交易将会下降，持卡人的费用将会上升，忠诚效益将遭到削减，而零售商不太可能让消费者获益于节省。