UK probes Mastercard, Visa, PayPal over suspected anti-competitive conduct

Wed, 06th May 2026 14:33

* Watchdog probes Mastercard, Visa, PayPal over digital wallet competition

* Regulator ⁠says probe ongoing, no conclusions or findings yet

* Digital wallet usage surges as authorities push stronger competition (Adds Mastercard, Paypal and Visa comments ‌in paragraphs 3-7, background in 8-9)

LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said ⁠on Wednesday it was investigating Mastercard , PayPal ⁠and Visa over suspected anti-competitive conduct linked to the funding and usage of PayPal's digital wallet.

In a brief statement, the FCA said it had reached no conclusions about whether competition law ‌had been broken.

The three companies said they were cooperating with the regulator.

Mastercard confirmed it had received an information notice from the FCA requesting details of its contractual relationship with PayPal.

"Mastercard works to ensure we meet the highest standards of competition law and will be cooperating fully ‌and transparently with the FCA," a spokesperson said.

A Visa representative said it had been informed by the ‌FCA of an inquiry into "contractual provisions regarding the PayPal digital wallet" and it was cooperating with the FCA.

"As this is a pending investigation, we cannot comment further at this time," a PayPal spokesperson said.

Digital wallet usage has surged ‌in Britain. The FCA and Payment Systems Regulator, which is tasked with ensuring an accessible, reliable and fair payment system, said last year the proportion of ⁠card ⁠transactions using a digital wallet had jumped to ‌29% from 8% in 2023.

In a joint statement issued in February 2025, the watchdogs said they had heard calls for improvements to enable competition among digital ‌wallet providers that would allow new players to enter the market to bolster innovation. (Reporting by Phoebe Seers, Kirstin Ridley and Sam Tabahriti, editing by William James, Louise Heavens and Bernadette Baum)