Peru: INDECOPI to probe bank card market

INDECOPI’s Technical Secretariat of the Commission for the Defense of Free Competition (ST-CLC) has announced the launchof a market study aimed at analyzing the conditions of competition in the country’s payment card systems, including credit and debit cards.

The agency has said the market study will focus on evaluating how the presence of unique acquirers and vertical relationships impact competition in payment card systems. Once concluded, it will hopes to identify measures that will improve the efficiency of the system for the benefit of consumers.

In Peru, cash is the most important means of payment, although its use generates high transaction costs and security problems, among others. The access to payment cards is reduced since only 28% of the population has debit cards and 12% owncredit cards, below the global average.