The French Competition Authority (FCA) has recently issued an opinion closing the sector inquiry it launched in the payment sector in January 2020. The FCA’s report mainly focuses on the disruption brought by new technologies and new market players in the sector, in particular BigTech companies. Whilst no enforcement action has yet been officially announced, there is no doubt that the FCA will keep a close eye on the competition law risks identified in the report.
In January 2020, the FCA announced the opening of ex-officio proceedings to assess the competitive impact of new technologies applied to financial services, and in particular payment services in France. Following extensive investigative work (including a public consultation launched in May 2020 - see our previous client alert here), the FCA issued its final opinion, outlining in particular the arrival of large BigTech platforms in the payment sector and the potential leverage they have to gain considerable advantages, including:
According to the FCA, these advantages could give rise to major competition concerns in the payment sector and in particular:
This FCA's opinion may also add to the debate and discussions at the European level on the regulation of payments and new technologies in general – in particular around the implementation of the Digital Market Act and the Digital Finance Package, or the Commission's ongoing antitrust probe into Apple Pay announced last summer.
For more information, you can consult the FCA’s press release here (in English) and the full opinion here (in French).