Visa fee system does not violate Competition Act: CCS

The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) said on Wednesday that it found Visa Worldwide’s multilateral interchange fee system (MIF) compliant with the Competition Act here.

Interchange fees are fees paid by the banks that process purchases on behalf of storeto Visa. The fees are ultimately borne by retailers, who have to pay the banks that process their purchases a certain percentage. Retailers have complained that the fees are too high and are not transparent.

CCS’ assessment was in response to Visa Worldwide which wanted to know whether its MIF system would violate the Competition Act, in particular, the Section 34 prohibition against anti-competitive agreements.

After reviewing the case, CCS said it had not found any evidence suggesting that “the MIF system has resulted in an appreciable adverse effect on competition in Singapore”, and thus concluded it did not infringe upon the Act.

Visa fee system does not violate Competition Act: CCS