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> The Commission, which monitors competition, said that Mastercard's rules prior to 2015 forced retailers to pay certain bank fees in the country they are locat

> The Commission, which monitors competition, said that Mastercard's rules prior to 2015 forced retailers to pay certain bank fees in the country they are located rather than let them shop around. Meanwhile I can’t get a debit card from my bank that defaults to a language I speak at POS terminals because that’s not the official language of the country I opened it in. The logic and connection being that is the country in which I signed the terms of service and agreed to x, y, and z (one of those being the language and another being fees). So I, as a consumer, am stuck with the terms of the country I reside in, but the bank, as a merchant, shouldn’t be?

jhrmnn 8y ago
That's a false analogy. No one forces you to stay with your bank. If you are an EU citizen, you can open an account in any other EU country. Mastercard was forcing merchants to only use banks within their respective countries.
- chrismeller 8y ago
  In point of fact my bank is German, but because I’m in Estonia I’m regulated (in their mind) by the Estonian TOS I signed.
  - jhrmnn 8y ago
    Which is necessary because each EU country still has its own local laws, which the local T&C must abide. If you travelled to Germany and opened a bank account at a local branch, you’d get German T&C.
simonh 8y ago
As a consumer you are free to open another account with any bank anywhere in Europe. The merchants should have the same freedom.
- chrismeller 8y ago
  *Any bank that will accept you as a client. In Estonia, at least, they will demand some sort of “tie to Estonia”. That could be residence or a business, but you’re not getting an account otherwise.
occamrazor 8y ago
If you live in EU/EFTA you can open an account with any EU/EFTA bank which wants you as a customer. Revolut and N26 are two popular examples of banks that offer accounts in many countries.
- chrismeller 8y ago
  I wouldn’t say that the bank I was referencing was one of those, but it might have begun with a letter in the range of M-O and ended with a numeric sequence that is less than 30. Edit: also, good luck with the “wants you as a customer” part. If you’re not a resident of their country it seems highly likely it’s not in their business interest to open you an account.

jhrmnn 8y ago

That's a false analogy. No one forces you to stay with your bank. If you are an EU citizen, you can open an account in any other EU country. Mastercard was forcing merchants to only use banks within their respective countries.

chrismeller 8y ago
In point of fact my bank is German, but because I’m in Estonia I’m regulated (in their mind) by the Estonian TOS I signed.
- jhrmnn 8y ago
  Which is necessary because each EU country still has its own local laws, which the local T&C must abide. If you travelled to Germany and opened a bank account at a local branch, you’d get German T&C.

simonh 8y ago

As a consumer you are free to open another account with any bank anywhere in Europe. The merchants should have the same freedom.

chrismeller 8y ago
*Any bank that will accept you as a client. In Estonia, at least, they will demand some sort of “tie to Estonia”. That could be residence or a business, but you’re not getting an account otherwise.

occamrazor 8y ago

If you live in EU/EFTA you can open an account with any EU/EFTA bank which wants you as a customer. Revolut and N26 are two popular examples of banks that offer accounts in many countries.

chrismeller 8y ago
I wouldn’t say that the bank I was referencing was one of those, but it might have begun with a letter in the range of M-O and ended with a numeric sequence that is less than 30. Edit: also, good luck with the “wants you as a customer” part. If you’re not a resident of their country it seems highly likely it’s not in their business interest to open you an account.