Tags » Banking Industry, Financial Regulators, Interchange Fees » Comments (0)
The European Commission has published the final report of its competition inquiry into the retail banking sector - finding "a number of competition concerns in the markets for payment cards, payment systems and retail banking products. Particular indicators are large variations in merchant and interchange fees for payment cards, barriers to entry in the markets for payment systems and credit registers, obstacles to customer mobility and product tying." Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: “The inquiry has found widespread competition barriers which unnecessarily raise the cost of retail banking services for European firms and consumers. The Commission will make full use of its powers under competition law to tackle these barriers, in the market for payment cards and elsewhere when they result from anticompetitive behaviour.”
READ MORE