Cross-border access to suspect merchant data

Pan-European Union (EU) and national blacklists of traders, whose right to accept credit cards has been removed by issuers due to fraud or irregularities, should be accessible across Europe under new guidelines. The EU Committee of Data Protection Authorities has approved rules for banks and other credit card companies to list merchants under objective criteria related to specified irregularities or risks, mostly linked to fraud. Banks would be able to consult the databases before signing new credit card contracts. Data protection law problems have limited scope for such databases in some EU countries (although not Britain). The European Commission estimates the pan-European usage could prevent frauds worth €200 million annually.