Argentina: VISA operators reveal disinvestment plan

Francisco Cabrera, Argentina’s Minister of Production, announced that PRISMA, which operates VISA credit cards in the country, has presented a new divestment plan to be approved by the National Commission for the Defense of Competition (CNDC). Under the proposal, the 14 banks that are PRISMA’s shareholders would sell the entirety of their stock, opening the way for new companies to enter the credit card market in Argentina, in the wake of an agreement struck with institutions to lower the rate of commissions charged to businesses.

PRISMA is owned by 14 private banks and is the only operator of VISA credit cards in Argentina. The CNDC has strongly urged for measures to be taken to increase free competition in this sector, and it will be up to the agency to determine whether the divestment plan put forward will be viable and consistent with this goal.

“Prisma is the exclusive operator of Visa, and will now cease to be a property of the banks” said Commerce Secretary Miguel Braun. Cabrera added that from now on “it’s possible that Visa will be managed by more than one company and they will compete with one another, or even that other credit card operators will enter the Argentine market.”

Full Content: MDZ

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