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Barclays Bank has been fined £8.4 million by the Payment Systems Regulator for failing to supply retailers with full information about fees attached to different card services.
Barclays, the UK’s biggest card acquirer, failed to provide retailers with transaction information required under the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR).
A lack of transparency from Barclays results in retailers being unaware of their current charges, so therefore unable find a more economical card payment provider. If retailers had been aware of their charges, this would allow them to negotiate a lower rate, or to switch provider and save money.
Payment Systems Regulator Managing Director Chris Hemsley reported “It’s vital that retailers and consumers get value for money on payment services – the interchange fee rules are an important part of making sure this happens. Barclays’ failure to be transparent with retailers about the fees they pay for card services meant details could have been missing out on better deals”.
The watchdog found that Barclays had failed to comply with the Interchange Fee Regulation for a three-year period from December 2015 to December 2018. During this period Barclays processed a third of all card payment transactions in the UK.
This is not the first time this year a big Bank has been caught failing to comply with the Interchange Fee Regulation. In early 2022, Natwest was fined £1.82 million for overcharging fees on credit cards.
Chris Hemsley added “Where we see banks failing to comply with the Interchange Fee Regulation, we have powers to intervene to make sure these important rules are followed, so retailers can make informed decisions about the services they use”.
For more information and to view the full report regarding Barclays £8.4 million fine, visit here.
Are you aware of your interchange fees? You could be saving money by switching provider. Check out our Cost Saving Calculator on our Home Page to see how much you could save.