Spain: Regulator to keep an eye on ATM commission agreements

Spanish regulators CNMC will keep a close eye on the agreements made by banks and other entities regarding the commissions charged by ATMs. The Commission is to write an annual report, which will analyse the decisions set down in the Royal Decree of Law which regulates the commissionas charged for withdrawing cash from ATMs belonging to different banks, in order to guarantee full compliance with competition regulations.

The new rules eliminate double charging, so that whichever entity owns the ATMs will no longer be able to charge users for the service, but must instead charge the card issuer. The issuing company may then pass this commission, fully or in part, on to their customers according to their own policies.

Despite the step forward represented by this modification, final commissions charged by institutions with proprietary ATM networks could make it harder for the customers of smaller institutions with limited or no ATM’s of their own. The ability of new competitors to enter the market without their own network has been an important point of contest in the development of effective competition policies in this sector.

Source: CNMC

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