Banks are threatening to start charging commission on ATM withdrawals, increasing the prices of debit cards or taking a whole host of other measures to offset the loss of revenue brought on by a new measure coming out of Brussels.
At issue is a limit the EC is considering on the taxes that commercial establishments should be charged for receiving payment via credit or debit cards.
President of the Portuguese Banks Associations has warned banks won’t take the proposed limit lying down.
“Anything that in terms of costs aggravates banking activity to improve profitability must have a countermeasure to obtain revenue from other sources,” Faria de Oliveira (pictured) told Lusa news agency, admitting there are a number of measures that may be implemented if this new EC ruling comes into effect.
The head of the association criticised the taxation limit, explaining: “it does not make sense”.
“The principle of subsidiarity is being questioned by this kind of legislation. The specific circumstances of each State-member should be taken into account and they should be allowed to create their own internal legislation,” he said.
