Argentina: Businesses lash out against “monopolistic logic” of credit card companies

Raul Zylbersztein, president of the Economic Federation for the City of Buenos Aires, has publicly criticized the “illegal practices and monopolistic logic of credit card companies, [which] for the simple fact of having a collection service, absorb a majority of utilities and impose a dominant methodology for appropriating the profit margins of other players.”

The country’s Commission for the Defense of Competition (CNDC) recently recommended that these companies be more tightly regulated, denouncing an “alleged abuse of dominance” and possible cartel-like behavior. The CNDC has also taken legal action against PRISMA, an Argentinian company which issues Visa, MasterCard, Credencial and Cabal credit cards. The CNDC is expected to issue a fine of up to 150 million pesos (around $10 million US) on the company.

“They are charging the highest service rates in the world, making commercial policies with promotions on specific days for specific cards” which, he assured, “makes their products 20% more expensive.” These practices, Zylbersztein said, are banned in many other countries, and are “market distortions which end up affecting people’s pocketbooks.”

Full Content: InfoRegion

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