UK Retailers Demand Intervention as Payments Shift to Cards

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has just published its 2021 survey of its members who account for 36% of total UK sales from 25,000 shops. While card usage soared, so has the cost of card payments, prompting the BRC to demand emergency intervention by the government to prevent price gouging by the card companies.

The headlines being reported are all about cash transactions halving to 15% in 2021 and the cost of accepting card payments rising to £1.3 billion a year. The BRC uses the findings to call for: 

• Legislation to stop card fees rising (the Payment Service Regulator (PSR) is reviewing payments but this is taking a long time and in the meantime fees and costs are rising) 

• The abolishment of interchange fees (in 2020 the UK’s Supreme Court found them to be unlawful)

• A Treasury review into the costs of accepting cards.