[THE INVESTOR] Following global payment network firm Visa’s recent decision to raise the card fees starting next year, a group of South Korean credit card companies said on July 6 they are mulling legal action.

In May, Visa notified Korean card firms that it will collect a higher rate of card fees for Koreans’ overseas credit card purchases using its networks from Korean card companies starting in October. The Korean firms balked at the hike plan because there are no such plans in Japan and China, according to the Credit Finance Association (CREFIA).

In June, the card firms sent a letter taking issue with the planned hikes. In the letter, they requested Visa to consult with its partner card firms before deciding on rate hikes. In July, Visa said in a reply letter that it was inevitable for it to raise the fees due to increased facility investments in Korea. The US company then only delayed the timeframe for the hikes by two months to January 2017.

Visa plans to raise the fees for Koreans’ overseas settlements using its global payment networks to 1.1 percent from the existing 1.0 percent.

“Representatives from Korean card firms met on Wednesday and agreed to consider sending another letter protesting against the planned hikes in Korea to Visa‘s headquarters in Asia or the US or paying a visit to either of the headquarters,” a CREFIA spokeswoman said.

Moreover, the local companies are giving serious consideration to bringing the issue initially to the antitrust regulator, she said.

Visa Korea spokesman Chung Yoon-young declined to comment.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)