Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 225: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that credit card charges levied by Irish banks are higher than other banks in the EU. [20211/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I have been informed by the Central Bank there are three types of charges associated with credit cards: The 'acquiring bank' (on behalf of the credit card company e.g. Visa and Mastercard) charges the retailer a fee - these fees are subject to the provisions of section 149 of the Consumer Credit 1995, if the acquiring bank is a financial institution,

· The 'issuing bank' (the issuer of the credit card on behalf of the credit card company) charges the cardholder fees, e.g. foreign exchange fees/late payment/ interest fees. These fees are covered under section 149 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 as the bank is a financial institution.

· Sometimes, a retailer passes fees onto the cardholder for using a credit card e.g. Ryanair/Irish Rail. These fees are not covered under section 149 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995.

I have also being informed by the Central Bank that, while they have not carried out research into such charges, it would appears that credit card charges in Ireland are higher than those charged by banks in other EU states.

Section 149 of the Credit Consumer Act 1995 requires financial institutions, money transmitters and bureaux de change to notify certain charges to the Central Bank for assessment in accordance with criteria laid down in the legislation as follows:

· the promotion of fair competition between holders of authorisations and credit institutions,

· the commercial justification submitted in respect of the proposal,

· the effect new charges or increases in existing charges will have on customers, and

· passing on costs to customers.

Having assessed the proposed charges submitted, the Central Bank will either reject the proposal, approve at a lower level or approve in full.