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Nordea Bank Finland Plc, OP-Pohjola Group and Sampo Bank Plc have, following negotiations, given commitments on the pricing of their ATMs to the FCA. The aforementioned banks own the Automatia Pankkiautomaatit Plc, which has its own Otto.-ATM network. In the future, the banks undertake to price their customers' Otto.-ATM withdrawals and the withdrawals made from the ATMs of the new ATM-operators with debit cards (Visa Electron, Visa Debit and MasterCard Debit) in a non-discriminatory manner.
Pricing may not discriminate against new operators
At the moment, the banks incur roughly one euro's worth of more costs from the Visa withdrawals made from the ATMs of the new operators than they do from the Otto withdrawals. As regards MasterCard withdrawals, the cost difference is roughly 60-65 cents. In the future, the difference in the service fees between the withdrawals from the ATMs of the new operators and the Otto ATMs cannot be higher than this cost difference.
In its decision, the FCA does not take a stand to as to how the banks price their customers' Otto.-withdrawals. The banks may still offer these withdrawals to their customers free of charge.
The FCA's decision does not impose obligations on any other banks than the three member banks of Automatia, i.e. Nordea, the OP-Pohjola Group and the Sampo Bank.
Prices fall and the number of ATMs increases
By its decision, the FCA wishes to secure fair competitive conditions in the cash distribution market. Sound and non-discriminatory conditions ensure that the services and service providers which best meet the preferences and expectations of the customers prosper in the market. As a result of the FCA's decision, the services fees charged by Nordea, the OP Group and the Sampo Bank from their customers for the withdrawals made from the ATMs of the new operators will decrease.
The expanding ATM-network increases the freedom of choice of the customers and the trade both regarding service providers and the payment methods used. The increase in the number of ATMs improves the possibilities of the consumers to withdraw cash and places the operators within the trade in a more equal footing than before. The improved availability of cash ensures that cash remains a viable option to the payment cards which are becoming more expensive with the introduction of SEPA.
A more extensive ATM-network than before encourages the banks to differentiate their service supply and increases the competition between banks.
Demand for new ATMs
The number of ATMs per citizen has decreased in Finland for the whole of 2000 - unlike in the other Euro-states. There were roughly 1700 ATMs in Finland in 2008, which is an exceptionally low figure in the EU in relation to the population. The Automatia Pankkiautomaatit Plc has been the only company offering ATM services in Finland in the past few years.
In March 2008, the ATMs of EuroCash Finland Plc entered the market. Another new operator, Suomen Käteisnosto Plc, aims to bring its Anna-ATMs to the market during the summer of 2009. Nettiset Plc has announced that it will enter the market in 2010 at the earliest. The FCA began to investigate the matter because of a complaint made by Suomen Käteisnosto Plc.
Commitment decision efficient way to solve the competition problem
In December 2008, the FCA sent a request for a rejoinder to the member banks of Automatia, in which it took the preliminary view that Automatia and its member banks have joint dominance in the cash dispensing market in Finland. The service fees charged by the banks from their customers for the withdrawals made from the new operators' banks were suspected to lead to abuse of joint dominance by creating obstacles to the entry of new ATM-operators. In the request for a rejoinder, the service fees charged from the withdrawals made from the new operators' banks were considered partially unfounded, compared to the costs incurred from the withdrawals. The commitments provided by the banks are sufficient to remove the suspected competition restraint and further investigations are hence not necessary.
The commitments of the banks and the FCA's decision based thereon is the quickest and most efficient solution to the existing competition problem. A Market Court procedure would have been considerably slower from the point of view of the ATM-operators and consumers.
Further Information:
Director Kirsi Leivo, tel. +358 40 5611110;
Senior Research Officer Pirjo Aspinen, tel. +358 9 7314 3610
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