Competition Authority Launches Investigation into Mastercard and Visa
The Competition Authority has opened an investigation regarding Mastercard and Visa.
It was stated that:
"The preliminary investigation conducted into the allegations that Mastercard and Visa, which provide payment system services on a global scale, have violated Articles 4 and/or 6 of the Competition Law No. 4054 through various exclusionary actions in the markets of scheme services and digital wallet services where they operate in Turkey has been concluded by the Competition Authority.
In the meeting dated 24.10.2024, it was assessed that Mastercard and Visa, which hold the majority of bank cards, credit cards, and prepaid cards exported from Turkey, have developed discount/incentive systems separately that could lead to de facto exclusivity in the context of vertical relationships with card-issuing undertakings in the scheme services market. The investigation aims to determine whether these systems, alone and/or cumulatively, pose a risk of market closure to competitors.
Additionally, it has been investigated whether Mastercard has abused its dominant position in the digital wallet services market through various actions, particularly predatory pricing, that may hinder its competitors' activities.
Moreover, the possible anti-competitive effects of Visa's non-compete obligation imposed on its buyers, which consist of member merchant units, regarding the non-acquisition of services from competing providers in the digital wallet services market have been examined.
As a result, an investigation has been decided to be opened against the economic integrity consisting of Mastercard Europe SA, Mastercard Europe SA Istanbul Liaison Office, and Masterpass Technology Services Inc., which are ultimately under the control of Mastercard Incorporated, as well as the economic integrity consisting of Visa Europe Limited, Visa Europe Services LLC, and Visa Europe Services LLC Turkey Representative Office, which are ultimately under the control of Visa Inc."