PRESS RELEASE

PAYMENT SERVICE: ANTITRUST LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO THE BANCOMAT CONSORTIUM TO VERIFY THAT THE FIXING OF THE INTERBANK COMMISSION FOR THE PAYMENT OF BILLS AND SLIPS CONSTITUTES AN AGREEMENT IN RESTRAINT OF COMPETITION

The proceeding must determine whether the commission of 0.10 cents for each transaction defined centrally by the Consortium reduces the space for competition between banks and other non-banking operators active in the sector to the detriment of final consumers

The Competition Authority, at a meeting on 19 February, decided to launch an investigation into whether the inter-banking fee introduced by the BANCOMAT Consortium for the payment of any commercial bill or invoice made with the PagoBancomat card constitutes an anti-competitive agreement that limits competition among banks to the detriment of merchants and final consumers.

The Bancomat Consortium also includes the ABI, banks, financial intermediaries, payment institutions and other persons authorised by domestic and European laws to operate in the area of ​​payment services in Italy and the European Union: there are currently 594 subjects including banks, parent companies of banking groups, as well as the most important non-bank national operators active in the provision of payment services, including Poste Italiana.

The new interchange fee of 0.10 euros applied from 3 January 2014 is related to the payment by the PagoBANCOMAT debit card of bills and other commercial invoices made at a commercial operator responsible for collecting from the creditor/payee who issued the bill or invoice.

The new interchange fee is the fee paid between banks and other non-bank operators active in payment services within the PagoBANCOMAT circuit: the so called acquirer, i.e. the bank or the agreed operator with the creditor entity (issuer of the bill) for each transaction made with the PagoBANCOMAT card pays the commission to the operator of the circuit that issued the card (so-called issuer) used by the debtor. This fee is therefore a cost to the acquirer and a credit for the issuer. Being a uniform fee and therefore a threshold of minimum cost it could prevent competitive trade policies in the offering of service to merchants and final consumers.

The process must be completed by 19 February 2015.

Rome, 27 February 2014