A PYMNTS Company

Switzerland: Competition Commission investigates mobile payment apps

By  |  November 28, 2018

The Swiss Competition Commission (Comco) announced an investigation into whether various Swiss financial firms agreed to boycott Apple Pay and Samsung Pay in order to protect rival mobile payments app, TWINT.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    TWINT is a joint venture between: SIX; Worldline; and the six largest Swiss banks. Comco suspects that five financial firms—Aduno, Credit Suisse, PostFinance, Swisscard, and UBS—refused to allow their credit cards to be used with the rival mobile payments apps. Comco has conducted inspections at the offices of those companies, as well as at TWINT, although it is not under investigation.

    Credit Suisse has cast doubt on the allegations, indicating that it already allows its customers access to Apple Pay and Samsung Pay via its subsidiary, Swisscard. UBS indicated that it had tried to reach an agreement with Apple Pay in 2016 without success. TWINT indicated that it has made its own antitrust complaint against Apple, which it alleges prevents the trouble-free use of TWINT on IOS devices.

    Full Content: National Law Review
    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.