Visa Europe plans to turn to Hungary’s Constitution Court over the regulation of the prices that can be charged for bank card payments, Visa Europe regional head Mark Antipof told the business daily Napi Gazdasag, the paper said on Thursday.
Mr Antipof said the regulation could set card acceptance back by decades in Hungary as the maximum 2pc fee that banks can charge small retailers will not make it worthwhile to install POS terminals except for points of sale with high turnover.
Furthermore, the share of bank card payments is increasing strongly at retailers in Hungary, the Visa Europe regional chief said.
Visa Europe figures show Hungarian bank-card holders used their cards to pay for products and services 60.7m times in 2009, compared to 54m in 2008. The increase was well above the European average. In Hungary, the number of POS transactions per bank card rose 12.4pc. Spending using debit cards in Hungary increased 11.8pc, also above the European average, while spending using credit cards rose 1.1pc in Hungary compared to a decline at European level.