Spanish decision boosts Fair Payment Alliance

Gavin Lipsith

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Spanish travel-retailers will be boosted by competition authorities' decision forbidding banks from setting a collective interchange fee on credit card payments.

The travel-retail industry's Fair Payment Alliance (FPA) has gained another victory in its campaign against excessive fees for credit card payment following a decision by Spanish competition authorities. The Tribunal for the Defense of Competition has rejected an application from Spanish banks to set a collective interchange fee, which would have left retailers unable to find service providers offering lower charges.

Kappé International chairman Jacques Parson told RavenFox.com that he welcomed the decision as further evidence that the campaign was gaining momentum among European governments. In recent months the Dutch government has decided to fine several banks for using their dominant position to stifle competition, and the UK Office of Fair Trading has launched an investigation into the inter-bank rates imposed by Mastercard.

"This is an interesting decision because one can once again conclude that in a European Union member state a government-controlled body is being very critical of the attitudes of the banks," said Parson. "The work of [European domestic retail association] EuroCommerce and their Spanish members has been very effective. They informed the competition authorities of the big difference in interchange fees compared with other countries, and the conclusion was that they were not happy with the current level."

Spanish retailers currently pay up to three times more than retailers in Belgium, which is used as a benchmark by FPA and EuroCommerce because of the strong competition for credit card services in the market. Parson said that the fees in Spain are likely to be realigned closer to that of other European countries following the decision.

Parson said that with the decisions in Spain, Holland and the UK the campaign now has strong backing from three very strong European countries, and that the FPA will seek to continue its partnership with EuroCommerce on the credit card payment issue. He added that Aldeasa had been informed of the issue but that he was unaware of any involvement from the retailer in the campaign.