General Superintendence reports in favor of conviction in the online commercial transactions market

Cade’s General Superintendence’s Official Opinion published on Friday (August 16th) recommended the condemnation of Redecard S/A for imposing unfair trading conditions and creating difficulties for companies operating in the Brazilian market of online monitoring of business transactions, known as facilitators. According to the opinion, the practices adopted characterize abuse of dominant position and harm to competition.

Facilitators are agents operating in e-commerce that offer, among other services, the possibility that consumers perform electronic transactions without informing to virtual stores their financial information. Thus, stores receive payments without having to be accredited with different credit card providers.

The case (Administrative Proceeding no. 08012.004089/2009-01) started based on the complaint made by the Brazilian Internet Association (Abranet, for its acronym in Portuguese) in 2009. In the same year, a preventive measure was applied by the Tribunal to suspend the practice of the supposedly anticompetitive practice.
 
 Redecard S/A was the only active accrediting company for Mastercard at the time of the practices. Abranet accused Redecard of imposing accreditation and the operation processing both via Redecard S/A systems to the facilitators.

Redecard S/A was the relevant accrediting company and, at the same time, a competitor of facilitators in the market. The General Superintendence stated that Redecard S/A used its market power to harm the performance of those agents, which could have negative consequences for consumers.

In the Superintendence’s opinion, the maneuver happened without a reasonable excuse, given that security issues and the other reasons alleged by Redecard S/A could have been treated in a less restrictive manner. The case now goes to trial by the Tribunal.