EACB key messages on the Commission’s proposal on the Digital Markets Act

The European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB) welcomes the European Commission’s proposal contained in the Digital Markets Act (DMA). As more economic activity moves online, the principle of “same activity, same risk, same rules” should be preserved, and a reform of competition enforcement is particularly important to this end. In this context, every company offering financial services should meet the same regulatory requirements, and no exception should be available to technology companies.

EACB members focused their attention on two key main aspects:
1. Access to hardware and software features, including NFC functionalities: For years BigTechs have been offering their own financial services. In doing so, they have restricted, by contractual and technical means, other providers from accessing their infrastructure. This is the case, for example, with the offer of mobile payment methods with mobile phones using Near-Field Communication (NFC) and bundled devices. Payment apps must be capable to access the phone’s NFC interface in order to initiate payments. Similarly, hardware (e.g., buttons for easy payment activation) or software functionalities (e.g., push notifications) must be accessible on fair terms and not restricted to other providers
2. Scope of the proposal: it is important to ensure that no regulatory caveats can be exploited by gatekeepers, for example by restructuring group structure, to avoid obligations. It will be important, notably, to ensure the reference to “undertakings" under Art. 3 will not detract from the definition of “providers of core platform services” for the purposes of assessing significant impacts on the internal market.