Core Viewpoint - Visa and Mastercard have been granted permission to appeal a ruling that their multilateral interchange fees charged to retailers violate competition law, marking a significant development in an ongoing legal dispute [1][2][3]. Group 1: Legal Context - The Competition Appeal Tribunal previously ruled that Visa and Mastercard's interchange fees breached European competition law, following lawsuits from hundreds of merchants [2]. - This ruling represents the first instance where the companies' commercial card and inter-regional multilateral interchange fees were found to infringe competition law [2]. Group 2: Company Responses - Both Visa and Mastercard expressed their approval of the Court of Appeal's decision, emphasizing the importance of interchange fees in the digital payments ecosystem and the benefits they provide to consumers, businesses, and banks [3]. - Legal representatives for the claimants expressed confidence in successfully resisting the appeal during the substantive hearing [3].