EU Transaction Costs vs. USA

Great little read about mobile payments.

http://www.paymentssource.com/news/paythink/apple-samsung-and-android-will-not-like-european-fee-revenue-3022374-1.html

Here is a snippet from the piece:

The real issue will be whether Apple and its tech giant competitors have the patience and inclination to play the long game, particularly in the EU. These tech players will see their share of transaction value from the banks significantly reduced in Europe, compared to the US, due to the huge discrepancy in interchange fees across the two continents. This December in the U.K. and the rest of the EU, new laws are set to reduce the interchange fee to 0.3% for credit and 0.2% for debit transactions. This will equate to 300-500% less than the revenue that issuing banks in the US are able to share with partners like Apple.

Will Apple and its competitors be willing to put the time and effort required into seeing their solutions take off in this market, when the commercial opportunity is reduced? Only time will tell.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant