The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) asserts that their inquiry into the service charge price rise by Point of Sale (PoS) providers is not coordinated or collaborative.
This was said in an interview issued by Mr. Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, on Sunday in Abuja.
Irukera claimed that the commission’s surveillance and spot inspections of members of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN) led to that determination.
He claims that based on what we currently know, this coordinated effort to proceed with an increase did not take place.
The FCCPC had threatened to prosecute members of AMMBAN over collaborative price fixing in accordance with the FCCPAct 2018.
The commission also entered an Order and Notice to AMMBAN to desist from the conduct that constituted an infringement of the law.
”I understand price increases are not uniform or coordinated with each other which is what we insisted on.
”We met with the association some days ago, and our people have been embarking on aggressive surveillance and spot checks.
”What we have learned is that this coordinated approach to proceed increase did not occur.
”National executive members of the association also noted that they did not and would not engage in that conduct.
”It will be interesting to discover if this really happened,” Irukera said.
On protecting bank customers from incessant bank charges, Irukera said Banks and other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), empowered only the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to regulate banks.
”Under BOFIA, CBN regulates banks to the statutory exclusion of FCCPC,” he said.