FIN.

Government to outlaw payment surcharging

The Government’s approach is set out in their response to its consultation on the implementation of PSD2.

Taking into account the range of views received through the consultation, the Government has decided to extend the surcharging ban to all retail payment instruments.

This will create a level playing field between payment instruments and create a much clearer picture for consumers in which they know the full price of the product/service they are purchasing upfront and confident that there will be no additional charges when they come to pay for any payment instrument they choose to use.

A blanket ban on surcharging for all retail payment instruments will also be much easier to enforce than the current position in which merchants are able to pass on costs (but the consumer has no easy way of assessing what these are).

The government does not however intend to extend the surcharging ban to commercial payment instruments, as these are not in competition with retail payment instruments.

In 2010, the total value of surcharges for debit and credit cards was an estimated £473 million.