BRUSSELS – MasterCard Inc. received an antitrust complaint from European Union (EU) watchdogs over concerns that the company is “artificially raising” card payment fees, according to news reports.

The EU’s statement of objections targets measures thwarting cross-border competition among banks that offer card services to retailers, as well as excessive fees when foreign visitors go shopping in European Union nations, the European Commission said in an statement yesterday.

“We currently suspect MasterCard is artificially raising the costs of card payments, which would harm consumers and retailers in the EU,” said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in the statement, as reported by Bloomberg.

EU antitrust regulators have targeted swipe fees on credit and debit cards for more than a decade, warning that the way the charges are collectively agreed on is anti-competitive. And last year, Visa Europe Ltd. pledged to cut levies for processing credit card payments in a settlement with the EU that would reduce charges by 40 to 60%. Earlier this year, the EU passed a law that would cap interchange fees on card payments and cut costs by 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion U.S.) per year.

In response to the complaint, MasterCard said that it is working with the commission “as part of an ongoing constructive dialog.” The EU’s antitrust complaint alleges MasterCard’s rules prevent banks from offering lower interchange fees to retailers based in another EU state, where levies may be higher.

The commission also said MasterCard’s levies for EU-based transactions with cards issued outside the region set an artificially high minimum price for processing payments.

A statement of objections allows the EU to set out its case, laying out where officials suspect a company has violated competition rules and citing evidence from complainants. Companies have a chance to respond in writing.