INVESTIGATION OPENED INTO PREPAID CARDS
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
ANTITRUST AUTHORITY OPENS FACT-FINDING INVESTIGATION INTO PREPAID CARDS TO CHECK ON ANY ABUSES THAT MIGHT HARM CONSUMERS
The Italian Competition Authority, at its meeting on 14 June 2007, decided to launch a fact-finding investigation to determine the effects of the ever more widespread use of prepaid cards in many industries on competitive dynamics and hence on the consumer.
In the Authority’s view, a consumer who buys a prepaid card, thus paying in advance for a product or service not yet provided, places himself in a weak bargaining position and is exposed to the risk of opportunistic conduct on the part of the card-issuing business.
The investigation will examine the effects of the norms regulating expiry dates and the reimbursement of residual credit. Specially in markets where companies, singly or collectively, enjoy a dominant position, regulatory norms may allow the imposition of excessively burdensome prices and contractual conditions, leading to the kind of abuse that is punishable under Antitrust law. It will be necessary, therefore, to determine whether current regulations are sufficient to prevent risks for consumers.
The investigation will also analyse the degree of transparency in the conditions attached to obtaining and using prepaid cards, as this is a factor which may influence competition.
Rome, 2 July 2007