term projects which will remove some of these allegations and which will increase competition," FBE's payments expert Ruth Wandhofer told Reuters. The report said businesses suffered as they were charged by credit card companies for each customer purchase, leading to higher prices. In addition, banks in eight EU nations created joint marketing ventures offering retailers the same prices to accept purchases by card, instead of competing against each other, something Kroes labelled an "effective monopoly". Visa and Mastercard have already come up against the Commission over their fees, which the highest European antitrust authority said broke competition rules. In 2002, Visa, the world's largest credit card association, agreed to cut fees after the Commission investigated its business practices. Mastercard is embroiled in a similar case. The retail banking inquiry is part of the Commission's drive to prise open cross-border markets, increase competition and liberalise sectors. After a similar investigation in the energy sector, Kroes warned gas and electricity suppliers they would face an antitrust crackdown because they were slow to open the market.
