Here is the plan of Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit, Iccrea and not only on the commissions for the ATM
The new Bancomat Spa project (a company controlled primarily by Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit, Iccrea, Banco Bpm and Mps) on the withdrawal service, the investigation launched by the Agcm and the first comments on the proposal.
The Competition and Market Authority has initiated an investigation against Bancomat Spa on the project relating to the cash withdrawal service with the ATM card at the affiliated automatic bank branches (ATMs). The main novelties of the proposal concern the abolition of the interchange fee and the payment of the commission applied to the withdrawal – by the consumer – directly to the credit institution where the ATM is located. The reason for this proposal is linked to the fact that banks often find themselves incurring costs higher than the amount of interbank commissions for the management of ATMs. The new remuneration system would therefore aim – according to Bancomat spa – to incentivize greater investments by the owners of the ATMs on the related equipment, so as to also bring a benefit to consumers. The Antitrust judgment is now awaited, which will have to assess whether the new rules of the circuit can configure an agreement likely to restrict or distort competition in the common market, as well as to verify what the real advantages are for users. Meanwhile, the National Consumers' Union has already expressed itself on the project, calling it "pure madness".
Let's see in more detail who ATM is, by whom it is held, what the project on withdrawals foresees, what are the reasons behind the new proposal and why the UNC rejected the project.
WHO IS BANCOMAT SPA
Bancomat Spa is the company that manages the Bancomat and PagoBancomat withdrawal and payment circuits, as well as the related cards, which can be used to make payments on Pos (Point of Sale) and withdrawals from ATMs (Automated Teller Machine). The share capital of Bancomat is held by 125 subjects and the main ones are: Intesa Sanpaolo which owns approximately 25% of the capital; Unicredit with approximately 19%; Iccrea Banca with approximately 11.5%; Banco Bpm with approximately 7.6% and Monte dei Paschi di Siena with approximately 7.5%. None of the shareholders has control of Bancomat, either individually or jointly.
AGCM LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION ON THE BANCOMAT PROJECT
The Competition and Market Authority initiated an investigation against Bancomat Spa after a communication sent to the Agcm by the same circuit. In practice, the investigation was initiated at the request of Bancomat Spa itself. The proceeding concerns the project relating to the cash withdrawal service with the ATM card at the affiliated automatic bank branches. The Bancomat service allows the holder of the card marked with the trademark of this circuit to withdraw cash at the ATMs affiliated with the ATM circuit, even belonging to banks other than the credit institution that issues the card.
HOW IT WORKS NOW
Currently, for each circular withdrawal operation, the card issuing bank debits the sum withdrawn from the current account of its customer and credits the same sum to the bank that owns the ATM where the withdrawal is made. Furthermore, the credit institution that owns the ATM branch obtains payment of the interchange fee of 0.5 euro from the issuing bank.
THE NEWS OF THE BANCOMAT PROJECT
The most important innovations of the Bancomat project being studied by the Competition and Market Authority are on the one hand the abolition of the interchange fee and on the other hand the payment of the commission applied to the withdrawal – by the consumer – directly to the bank credit where the ATM is located. The fee would be communicated to the cardholder prior to authorization for the withdrawal operation.
THE REASONS BEHIND THE CHANGE
The modification of the current remuneration model, in the opinion of Bancomat Spa, would be justified by the increase in the costs incurred by the banks in the management of ATMs linked to the technological evolution of the equipment and to the greater risks associated with more sophisticated fraudulent initiatives. These costs would in many cases be greater than the amount of the interchange fee. The new remuneration system would thus aim to incentivize greater investments by the owners of the ATMs in the related equipment in order to bring a benefit to consumers, according to the company controlled in particular by Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit, Iccrea, Banco Bpm and Mps. However, it must be considered that at the moment the project foresees a change, but it does not necessarily involve an overall saving for users.
AGCM WILL ASSESS IF NEWS MAY RESTRICT OR FAKE COMPETITION
The evaluation of the Agcm is therefore awaited. Since the circuit rules submitted by Bancomat to the Authority constitute an agreement between competing subjects, the Antitrust will assess whether the new circuit rules may constitute an agreement capable of restricting or distorting competition in the common market. The impact on the competitive capacity of the various operators will also be taken into account, also considering the different extension of the ATM network.
THE COMMENT OF THE UNC
Pending the verdict of the Agcm, the first comment has already arrived. Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumers Union, argues that the Bancomat Spa project is “pure madness. For this reason, we ask that it be completely rejected by the Antitrust. It would be an obvious abuse ”. Dona stressed that with the new methods, each bank that owns the ATM will end up independently applying "a different tax to its liking, perhaps taking advantage of the fact that it is the only institution present in that municipality and to act in conditions of substantial monopoly . The consumer would essentially be forced to suffer what would be a real bullying and harassment. A beautiful and good abuse ". The president of the National Consumers Union specified that it is not clear "for what reason, how and to what extent that levy is triggered, and how does the consumer possibly contest it, since he has no contractual relationship with the institute of credit where the ATM is located ".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/ecco-il-piano-di-intesa-sanpaolo-unicredit-iccrea-e-non-solo-sulle-commissioni-per-il-bancomat/ on Mon, 14 Dec 2020 14:59:36 +0000.