European anti-trust watchdogs are gearing up for another battle with MasterCard over the card scheme's fees, Bloomberg reports.
EU regulators may send a statement of objections to MasterCard before the end of July, said the newswire, citing unidentified sources.
In September, MasterCard lost a seven-year battle with the European Commission over the validity of its interchange fees for cross-border card payments, following a decisive judgement at the EU's highest court.
The rationale behind the latest salvo from the European Commission is not known, although it is likely to focus on MasterCard's 'honour all cards' rule, which obliges merchants to accept all flavours of the company's product line.
Any intervention by the Commission would be the precursor for another round of legal battles and possibly heavy fines if the card scheme is found to have violated the rules.