Excessive merchant fees for Girocard payments in violation of cartel law

Until 2014, the German banking associations and individual banks agreed on the amount of the user fee to be paid by merchants for the electronic cash system.

In administrative proceedings, the Federal Cartel Office obliged the credit institutions to abandon the joint fixing of fees.

Hausfeld represents several major German retail companies in asserting antitrust damages claims against the German banking associations and individual banks for excessive merchant fees.