Maestro Global Rules (PDF) - MasterCard

Europe Region
3.1 Standards
3.1 Standards
2.3.3.7 Interchange Fee Requirements
If a central Acquirer acquires an Intracountry Transaction, the following
principles apply to the interchange fee:
1. the central Acquirer may agree upon bilateral interchange fees with the
Issuer;
2. if no bilateral interchange fees have been agreed, the intracountry fallback
interchange fees, as defined in the intracountry rules of the country in
which the Transaction took place, apply;
3. if at the time of the Transaction no intracountry fallback interchange fees
exist in the country where the Transaction took place, the intra-European
fallback interchange fees apply.
If a central Acquirer acquires a Non-Intracountry Transaction, the following
principles apply to the interchange fee:
1. the central Acquirer may agree upon bilateral interchange fees with the
Issuer;
2. if no bilateral interchange fees have been agreed and the Transaction
took place with a Card issued in the Region, the intra-European fallback
interchange fees apply.
2.3.3.8 Settlement of Disputes
Any disputes relating to central acquiring will be resolved by the Corporation in
accordance with the Standards.
2.3.3.9 Noncompliance
The following are examples of violations of the central acquiring rules for
which noncompliance assessments may be applied:
1. Engaging in central acquiring without first registering,
2. Engaging in central acquiring in non-notified countries or of non-notified
Merchants (not applicable for Western and Central European countries).
3. Failure to comply with intracountry rules (including application of incorrect
interchange fees) resulting in financial loss to another party.
4. Incorrect data in Interchange System messages (including incorrect country
code) resulting in financial loss to another party.
Transactions undertaken in Europe with Cards issued by European Customers
are considered intra-European Transactions.
©1993–2012 MasterCard. Proprietary. All rights reserved.
17-8 9 November 2012 • Maestro Global Rules