Italy's anti-trust regulator announced on Tuesday that it had opened a probe into the costs for using ATM cash cards to determine whether banks had engaged in price fixing and thus violated competition laws.
A statement from the authority said it had notified the Italian Banking Association (ABI) and Co-Ge.Ban, the company which develops the cards, of their investigation into the costs of withdrawing cash from ATM machines and using the cards to make purchases.
The anti-trust body said it intended to determine whether the setting of fees for these services reduced the independence of banks to charge lower rates and thus hindered competition in the sector.
Until the recent banking sector law, the Bank of Italy was responsible for authorising agreements regarding the cash cards, known in Italy as Bancomat cards. The sector is now the responsibility of the anti-trust regulator.
The consumer group Codacons applauded the initiative by the anti-trust authority and expressed its hope that this "will end the tyranny of banks and finally shed light on how bank fees are decided".
"It is our hope that the probe will result in a reduction in Bancomat costs for consumers. It is outrageous that in Italy using the card of one bank in the machine of another bank costs an average of two euros, while abroad the same operation costs 12 euro cents," Condacons said.
