Brazilian antitrust watchdog Cade rejected on Wednesday Itau Unibanco’s appeal on a case involving its payments processor Rede for alleged anticompetitive practices.
Cade determined that Itau cannot demand that merchants have checking accounts at the bank as a condition for pre-payment of sales by credit cards. If the bank does not comply with the decision, it is subject to a 250,000 reais ($59,574) fine per day.
Itau said in April it would prepay small and mid-sized merchants in two days after the sales with no interest rates, sharply reducing the usual 30-day period in Brazil, in an unprecedented market move. As an eligibility condition, Itau demanded merchants to receive all payments in a checking account in the bank.
Full Content: Reuters
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