The GRTU, Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, said a legal case soon to be concluded in the United States, could entitle users of Visa and Master cards or Diners Club credit cards to a refund on transactions abroad between 1 February, 1996 and 8 November, 2006.

The case, Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust Litigation, is challenging Visa, MasterCard and the banks associated with them, and Diners Club, for agreeing to establish fees due to them on foreign transactions using credit and debit cards, in breach of competition legislation.

The case, the GRTU said, should be concluded on 31 March, and $336 million are being set aside to refund the charges made. Anyone who made a transaction during that period using Visa or MasterCard could be entitled to a share of the set-aside money. Those interested should visit www.ccfsettlement.com or listen to recorded information on telephone number 1-800-945-9890.

The GRTU is also advising members and businesses to ask the Maltese commercial banks for an account of the charges or fees imposed on them during 2007, on the use of debit and credit cards.

The chamber’s lawyers are also drawing up a case for the Maltese courts, to be instituted in case the public regulators, which are the Office of Fair Competition and the Malta Financial Services Authority, do not take the necessary steps to protect the interests of businesses in general, as they were obliged to do under Maltese and European law.

The GRTU added it is also calling on the government to legislate against the excessive charges imposed by local banks as associates of Visa and MasterCard and to impose controls on the banks in their imposition of fees on retailers and other businesses which accept transactions using credit and debit cards. According to its calculations, the GRTU said, these fees are up to 20 times higher than they should be.