Australia's competition watchdog sues VisaFebruary 4, 2013 - 16:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Australia's competition watchdog has sued credit card company Visa for alleged "misuse of market power". It has accused Visa of preventing customers from using a currency of their choice in transactions, BBC News reported. The regulator also alleged that Visa "engaged in exclusive dealing" and barred retailers from using rival currency conversion services. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleged that such practices were meant to boost Visa's revenue. Rod Sims, chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said that such moves meant that travelers to Australia were not able to decide "who does their currency conversion when withdrawing cash from an ATM". "In particular, they are denied the ability to know the cost of transactions in their own currency at the time the transaction is made." He added that Visa's practices of not allowing use of rival currency conversion systems at merchant outlets also meant that retailers were denied opportunity to share the revenue arising from such transactions. "Finally, it is alleged that Australian suppliers of dynamic currency conversion (DCC) services were, and continue to be, denied the opportunity to compete with Visa in relation to DCC services at ATMs." Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Russia provides info about arrested Armenian ex-MP Russian law enforcement agencies have provided information about the arrest of Tigran Urikhanyan. Lemkin Institue slams Pashinyan's “cryptic engagement with Genocide denial” The Lemkin Institute is alarmed over Pashinyan’s statements “questioning Armenia's legal basis to pursue justice against Turkey”. 41 detained as antigovernment protests continue in Yerevan 41 people were detained in Yerevan as people demanding Pashinian’s resignation stage campaigns of civil disobedience. Armenia votes for UN resolution granting Palestine new rights The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on May 10 to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine. |