trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/g_ifdtvlm-_4dzhqzj7obq2 content esgSubNav
In This List

South Korean antitrust body probes Visa over increase in foreign fees

Blog

Fintech Intelligence Digital Newsletter: May 2021

Street Talk – Episode 76: Record pace of fintech M&A, funding in Q1'21 has legs

Fintech Intelligence Digital Newsletter: April 2021

Podcast

Street Talk | Episode 76: Record pace of fintech M&A, funding in Q1'21 has legs


South Korean antitrust body probes Visa over increase in foreign fees

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission is reviewing a case filed by local credit card companies against U.S.-based Visa Inc. after the latter unilaterally hiked foreign transaction fees, The Korea Times reported May 29.

The inspection results are scheduled to be released in June, the publication said.

The card companies said they will file a similar case against China Unionpay Co. Ltd. to the antitrust authority once the above results are available. This came after UnionPay raised its transaction fees to 0.8% from 0.6% in 2017 as an increasing number of South Korean customers started using it for cross-border shopping.

They added they will review a plan to stop paying such fees for customers.

The absence of international payment companies in the country force local customers to use Visa, Unionpay and Mastercard Inc., according to an unnamed official at Hyundai Card Co. Ltd. Without leverage, such companies are also likely to take advantage of domestic customers to control fees unilaterally, the official added.