LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - Global payments processors

Visa and Mastercard's ( MA ) default multilateral

interchange fees which are charged to retailers infringe

competition law, a London tribunal ruled on Friday in the latest

round of the long-running legal saga.

London's Competition Appeal Tribunal unanimously ruled that

Visa and Mastercard's ( MA ) multilateral interchange fees breach

European competition law, in a ruling in linked lawsuits brought

by hundreds of merchants.

David Scott, global managing partner of law firm

Scott+Scott, which represented the claimants, said the ruling

was "a significant win for all merchants who have been paying

excessive interchange fees to Visa and Mastercard ( MA )".

Both Visa and Mastercard ( MA ) said they disagreed with the

decision and intended to seek permission to appeal.

A Visa spokesperson said: "Visa continues to believe that

interchange is a critical component to maintaining a secure

digital payments ecosystem that benefits all parties, including

consumers, merchants and banks."

"Mastercard ( MA ) strongly disagrees with today's decision, which

is deeply flawed, and will seek permission to appeal," a

Mastercard ( MA ) spokesperson said in a statement.

Litigation over multilateral interchange fees, which are

levied on retailers when cardholders make a transaction, has

rumbled on for well over a decade in Britain and elsewhere.

Scott+Scott said Friday's ruling was the first time that

Visa and Mastercard's ( MA ) commercial card and inter-regional

multilateral interchange fees had been found to infringe

competition law.

The liability trial which led to Friday's ruling took place

in early 2024. A ruling following a further trial to determine

whether any alleged overcharge was passed on by retailers to

customers is pending.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)