BRUSSELS, June 12 (Xinhua) -- MasterCard agreed to temporarily repeal its interchange fees charged on cross-border payment in a bid to avoid antitrust penalties, the European Commission said on Thursday.

    European Union (EU) Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said the commission would continue to pursue the case until MasterCard presents a permanent solution.

    "Irrespective of MasterCard's move to temporarily repeal its cross-border multilateral interchange fees (MIF), the commission will continue to be open to assess any new proposals from MasterCard concerning systems to ensure both efficient payments and a fair share of the benefits for consumers and retailers," she said.

    The commission last December gave MasterCard six months to withdraw its charges on cross-border payment, the so-called MIF.

    The EU's antitrust watchdog said MasterCard's charges for cross-border payment card transactions with MasterCard and Maestro branded debit and consumer credit cards violated EU antitrust rules against restrictive business practices.

    As the deadline expires on June 21, MasterCard therefore resorted to the temporary measure to avoid daily penalty for non-compliance of the commission's decision.

    The commission said since the adoption of its decision MasterCard had failed to come forward with an alternative MIF that could be justified. The temporary measure would allow MasterCard time to continue to look for evidence to demonstrate the benefits of a MIF.

    In March, the commission launched a separate antitrust investigation into MaterCard's main rival Visa to find whether its MIFs are fair.