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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The Competition Authority has issued a direct request to the Bank of Albania today, asking it to intervene in the commissions that commercial banks charge citizens when withdrawing money from ATMs.
In a special decision, the Competition Commission asks the Bank of Albania to control the methodology for calculating commissions, especially for foreign cardholders and for the application of the "mark-up" in the dynamic currency exchange service.
This reaction comes after a detailed monitoring of the ATM banking services market in the territory of the Municipality of Saranda. Although no anti-competitive practices were found, the report highlights serious problems in transparency and in the way banks apply fees to consumers.
" The assessment of the data shows that no illegal practices that violate competition have been found, but a low level of transparency on fees has been identified; a lack of harmonization of fees applied to foreign cardholders, and problems related to the use of subcontracted ATM networks ," the Commission's decision states.
For this reason, Competition recommends three concrete measures to the Bank of Albania:
Full control over the calculation of commissions for ATM withdrawals;
Obligation to report and publish commissions in a unified format, accessible to the public;
Review of the need for regulatory intervention on the use of subcontracted networks and the prevention of abusive tariffs.
At a time when citizens feel disappointed by banking services and high fees applied without clear warning, this decision could be an important step towards establishing a more transparent and honest standard in the Albanian financial market.
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