The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has said that it is investigating transaction charge increase attempts by Point of Sales agents.
PoS agents under the aegis of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents earlier announced plans to increase their transaction charges.
However, the FCCPC in a statement, signed by its Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Babatunde Irukera, on Wednesday noted that price fixing is against the law and distorts the market, prevents innovation and efficiency, and impacts consumers negatively.
The commission stated thus: “The Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Act (2018) recognises indeed encourages the prerogative of businesses to organise in and as trade associations for acceptable purposes, such as ensuring and enforcing applicable standards and best practices, as well as a measure of self-regulation within the profession or trade.
“However, the same FCCPA copiously and extensively limits the scope and extent of such collaboration, particularly to exclude coordination with respect to scope or supply of services and price of services.
“The FCCPA expressly prohibits any price-fixing or agreement among undertakings (whether bilaterally or multilaterally) or by undertakings acting in consensus on the platform, or under the aegis of an association to fix prices, coordinate supply or any other commercially sensitive factors that can limit or substantially prevent competition; or otherwise distort the market.”