Mastercard fined £31m for prepaid cards market failings

Mastercard has been fined £31.6m by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) for infringing competition law.

The PSR concluded that Mastercard, along with four other parties, had infringed competition law by agreeing not to compete or poach each other’s customers in the UK prepaid cards market.

The pre-paid cards in question were used by local authorities to distribute welfare payments to vulnerable members of society, such as the homeless, victims of domestic violence and asylum seekers.

In a decision issued today, the PSR has imposed fines totalling more than £33m for each party’s participation in the illegal conduct, with the largest issued to Mastercard. Prepaid Financial Services (£916,746), Advanced Payment Solutions (£755,419), allpay (£28,553) and Sulion (£572) were also handed fines for infringements.

The PSR confirmed that its decision concludes an investigation first opened in October 2017, before provisional findings of the case were first revealed in March 2021.

“This investigation and the significant fines we have imposed send a clear message that the PSR has zero tolerance for cartel behaviour,” commented PSR managing director, Chris Hemsley. “We will intervene and enforce the law strictly to ensure there is effective competition in payments markets.

“This case is particularly serious because the illegal cartel behaviour meant there was less competition and choice for local authorities. This means they may have missed out on cheaper or better-quality products which were used by some of the most vulnerable in society.”

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


FREE E-NEWS SIGN UP

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news and other industry announcements by email.

  Please tick here to confirm you are happy to receive third party promotions from carefully selected partners.


NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?

The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.

Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?



In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.

The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.

In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.