Millions of consumers could be hit in the pocket by Mastercard's £700million takeover of rival VocaLink, competition chiefs have warned. The deal would give Mastercard a dominant position in the payments market – potentially hurting anyone who withdraws money from an ATM. Bosses at the Competition and Markets Authority have raised particular concerns about the Link network, which connects cash machines to banks.Link is owned by the banks themselves but Mastercard and VocaLink are two of its three top suppliers. It means their tie-up would slash the number of serious bidders for contracts and could hit the network's ability to get value for money. The CMA has given the firms until January 11 to come up with a solution and will launch an in-depth probe if one cannot be found.....Read more here