Fideres today wrote to the European Commission to bring to its attention the anticompetitive impact of a widespread practice known as IBAN discrimination. This forces consumers and businesses alike to open redundant bank accounts across multiple countries within the single market in order to make payments to entities such as tax authorities, mobile operators and utility providers. Fideres is concerned that this distorts banking competition within the EU, and potentially constitutes an illicit form of state aid, under art. 107 of TFEU.

Fideres’s letter is available here.