Windhoek: The Namibian Competition Commission (NCC) on Monday reached a N.dollars 319 650 settlement with the Payments Association of Namibia (PAN) over alleged anti-competitive conduct related to interchange fee fixing among major commercial banks. In a statement issued by Corporate Communications Practitioner Dina //Gowases, the NCC noted that, in terms of Section 41 of the Competition Act No. 2 of 2003, it intends to submit the consent agreement to the High Court of Namibia for confirmation as an order of the court.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the agreement specifies that PAN will pay N.dollars 299 650 as a pecuniary penalty, and an additional N.dollars 20 000 to partially cover the NCC’s investigation costs. The total amount is due within 30 days of the court confirming the agreement. The investigation, launched on 10 March 2022, focused on PAN, a statutory body established under the Payment System Management Act No. 18 of 2003, and four major commercial banks: First National Bank of Namibia (FNB)
, Bank Windhoek, Standard Bank Namibia, and Nedbank Namibia.

The NCC found that the parties had adopted the Payment Clearing House Card Schedule (PCH), which set rules for the settlement and clearing of card transactions, including fixed interchange fees. This practice allegedly began in 2014 and continued until 2020, when an exemption was granted under certain conditions. The conduct was found to contravene Section 23(1), read with Sections 23(2)(a) and 23(3)(a) of the Competition Act, which prohibits agreements between competitors to fix prices or trading conditions.

The NCC stated that the banks, as competitors in the card issuing and acquiring markets, had collectively determined interchange fees instead of setting them independently. PAN admitted that its conduct constituted an unintended breach of the Act and agreed to settle the matter under Section 40, which allows for such agreements. The settlement becomes binding only upon confirmation by the court.

The NCC also reminded stakeholders that entiti
es under investigation may approach it to explore settlement options and avoid formal proceedings under Section 38 of the Act.