MasterCard as of 21 June will suspend cross-border interchange fees on its MasterCard and Maestro cards in the European Economic Area to avoid European Commission fines

. The Commission last December ruled that the fees, in addition to standard interchange which continues to apply to all transactions, violated EC rules on "restrictive business practices." The Commission said it would begin to impose daily penalties of 3.5 percent of MasterCard's daily global turnover if it did not withdraw the fees within six months. MasterCard said it would continue to appeal the ruling and "dialogue with the Commission services about an interchange fee methodology that the Commission services believe is consistent with the decision." The EC in March began an investigation of Visa's interchange fees.