By Saloni Sinha ( May 26, 2026, 08:50 GMT | Insight) -- Mastercard’s market power remained substantial despite years of merchant surcharging, an economic expert told an Australian court in an antitrust trial over the payments company’s conduct. In a Federal Court hearing on Tuesday, Alan Frankel, an economist called by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, accepted that while surcharge competition imposed some constraint on Mastercard, it did not eliminate the company’s market power.Mastercard’s market power remained substantial despite years of merchant surcharging, an economic expert told an Australian court in an antitrust trial over the payments company’s conduct....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
- Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
- Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
- Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
- Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline
Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.