Rip-off credit card fees to be banned in UK from 2018

“RIP-OFF” card fees will be banned from next year after the Government announced that paying with plastic will be free.

All consumer-facing credit and debit card fees, which can be as high as 20 per cent, will be outlawed from next year under an EU rule change.

For decades surcharges have been used by firms to make extra profit at the direct expense of customers choosing to pay by card. They are also used by councils, HMRC and other government agencies to squeeze extra money out of consumers.

But from January 2018, organisations caught charging customers for card payments will be ordered by authorities to repay the fees or be fined.

The UK ban will apply to consumers paying with Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and American Express. Stephen Barclay, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said: “Rip-off charges have no place in a modern Britain.”