The Swiss Competition Commission has launched an investigation against one of the major credit card issuers following a complaint by SIX, the stock exchange operator.
The Swiss Competition Commission on February 8 started a probe against Mastercard, according to a statement released on Tuesday. The investigation will focus on a possible infringement of the so-called National Cash Scheme (NCS) of SIX, the financial-market-infrastructure provider of Switzerland. The commission also said it had implemented precautionary measures in the case.
The investigation was triggered by a complaint from SIX that Mastercard was obstructing the market entry of NCS. NCS is a new national SIX rulebook for cash withdrawals and other transactions at ATMs. In particular, it is intended to enable cash deposits or balance inquiries even at third-party ATMs.
Obstruction of Co-Badging
The obstruction now occurs, according to the complaint, with Mastercard refusing to «co-badge» the NCS on the new Debit Mastercard. This new type of card is considered the foundation for many digital financial services and is being introduced in many places by banks as card issuers.
Co-badging is the application of two or more payment brand applications to the same card-based payment instrument. The precautionary measures create the possibility for the card-issuing banks to technically prepare the debit cards for possible later activation of the NCS.
