STRATEGIC PARTNERS
December 15, 2001
LONDON -- The UK's Office of Fair Trading ruled on Oct. 16 that the benefits offered by the rules governing ATMs in the LINKnetwork far outweigh any possible anticompetitive effects, and granted LINK an exemption from the Competition Act of 1998.
LINK, which is owned by number of UK banks and building societies, had asked the regulator whether its rules were in contravention of the Act and, if the rules were, whether it could have an exemption.
Most of the UK's 33,000 ATMs are LINK-branded, with each member paying a fee to a card issuer when its ATM is used. Most members charge the fee set out in LINK's rules, though they are free to individually negotiate their own charges.
LINK's flat fee does restrict competition, the OFT said. However, the benefits of its rules, including a greater number of ATMs available and lower costs to ATM users, outweigh any competition concerns.
