Italy’s government has gone ahead with its
plans to impose a zero service charge cap for acquirers of petrol
retailers, weeks after saying the country’s merchant acquiring
industry would be encouraged to set its own fees.
The government initially announced it intended
to impose the cap on merchant service charges on petrol purchases
below €100 back in January, but changed its mind following fierce
criticism from the acquiring industry.
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Now, however, the government has made a second
u-turn, announcing that it will be proceeding with parts of its
initial proposal after all.
In January, one Italian acquirer told
Cards International that their business stood to lose
€30,000 a day due to the zero service charge cap on petrol.
Following yesterday’s announcement, a source
at another Italian acquirer said:
“I think acquirers will lose interest in the
petrol acquiring business. I don’t think acquirers will raise fees
in other merchant segments, but big acquirers could well implement
other fees at petrol stations.”
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By GlobalDataConsultant Francesco Burelli, partner at Value
Partners, disagrees, saying that rather than levying additional
fees, acquirers will simply abandon the petrol retail sector
altogether.
“It is likely that most, if not all, acquiring
banks will exit the petrol station merchant category,” he said.
“Given the pressure and attention on banking
fees, it is unlikely that they will be able to compensate for the
loss in revenue on petrol by readjusting other fees. In the short
term, card payments for petrol in Italy are going to unprofitable
for acquirers and issuers alike.”
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