Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 10 July 2008 00:12
Opinion and Analysis
Page 3 of 5
Following this letter is a note sent to other eBay
members likewise concerned over the safety of the Direct Deposit
system.
The note says:
“I spoke with the CBA and they encouraged me to write to the CEO and
if every other bank receives similar enquiries, they will have to
publicly comment, or at least investigate it at the Bankers Association
type level.
“The Bankers Association put in a major ACCC submission, so get writing
to your bank and ask them to assure you that DD is still safe, in
contradiction to eBay's propaganda. Eventually they may have to
reassure their customers publicly.
“There is a rumour that a major bank is considering legal action
against PayPal for removing funds from its customers' accounts and
bankcards without authority or redress to their account holders...that
got me thinking....and it seemed to me that PayPal were using
misleading propaganda to take business from the banks. They don't like
that much. Every little bit helps....we buy, we sell, we pay taxes and
WE VOTE !!!”
The CBA’s
submission to the ACCC is then partially quoted as follows:
“The payment systems underlying bank transfers are robust, safe and
efficient. Our customers have the assurance that payments will be made
as directed.
“We believe it is preferable for customers (buyers and sellers) to be
able to choose the most appropriate payment method, and to artificially
limit such choice is unnecessarily restrictive.
“Forcing customers to adopt higher cost payment methods, that bring
economic benefit to eBay / PayPal, is an unwarranted restriction of
competition that falls short of any reasonable test of public benefit.
It also contradicts current payment system reform sentiments.
“The Bank is aware of submissions on this issue being lodged by other
payments industry bodies of which we are a member. We support such
submissions and commend them to the Commission.
“Finally, we understand that this Submission will be placed on the Commission's public website.
“Thank you again for the opportunity to contribute to this debate.
Please feel free to contact me should you wish to discuss any aspect of
this Submission. My contact details are above.
“Yours sincerely
Stuart Woodward
General Manager
Representation”
Continued on page 4.
