The UK will ban all fees on the use of credit cards, starting next January.
The common practice of adding a few (or as much as 20) percent to the bills of customers using credit cards, was already set to end next year under a new EU rule, but Britain’s ban includes Paypal and American Express, while the EU ban only applies to Visa and MasterCard.
The ban will not only affect stores, but also public authorities, some of which charge extra for paying taxes or transport tickets by card. On the other hand, it may result in small merchants raising the minimum amount that can be charged, since merchants will continue to pay fees to card issuers.
