Credit card company Mastercard has been fined £31.56 million (€37.75 million) in Britain for having concluded cartel agreements with four other companies. This was announced by the British regulator for payment systems (PSR).
The case revolves around prepaid credit cards that local governments used to provide benefits to people in vulnerable situations, such as the homeless and asylum seekers. The system was supported by Mastercard. But between 2012 and 2018, Mastercard, three card issuers with Mastercard licenses – Allpay, Advanced Payment Solutions and Prepaid Financial Services – and financial services company Sulion abused the system. They agreed that they would not approach or try to steal each other’s customers in the public sector.
The companies involved admitted in the course of PSR’s investigation that they had broken the law. The regulator has now fined the five companies for a total of £33 million. The majority of this, 31.56 million pounds, is for the account of Mastercard.
“This case is particularly serious because the illegal cartel meant there was less competition and choice for local authorities,” said PSR chief executive Chris Hemsley. “This means they may have missed out on cheaper or better products for the most vulnerable in society.”
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