Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 22 July 2008 08:24
Opinion and Analysis
Page 4 of 5
What follows is page 4 of a letter sent to Glenn Stephens, the Chairman of the Reserve Bank of Australia, in italics:
”The terms that eBay enforces on its customers in the use of PayPal means that PayPal has an unfair advantage over its competition.
“Fees can’t be passed on, secure delivery methods must be paid for by the seller of the goods, the competition to PayPal cannot be preferred or promoted by eBay’s customers.
“Given that we have limited means to communicate with like minded people, we wish to advise you that, without meaning any disrespect to you or the Bank, 24 hours after this letter is sent to you we intend to post the letter on the discussion boards at eBay. This is to ensure that people know of this action.”
The letter ends with the standard formal closing. A range of “background information for eBay members” is then provided, and listed in italics:
“The PSB has responsibility for determining the RBA's payments system policy. It must exercise this responsibility in a way that will best contribute to:
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• controlling risk in the financial system;
• promoting the efficiency of the payments system; and
• promoting competition in the market for payment services, consistent with the overall stability of the financial system.
“The RBA's wide-ranging powers in the payments system are set out in the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998. It may:
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• designate a particular payment system as being subject to its regulation;
• determine rules for participation in that system, including rules on access for new participants;
• set standards for safety and efficiency for that system (these may deal with issues such as technical requirements, procedures, performance benchmarks and pricing);
• direct participants in a designated payment system to comply with a standard or access regime; and
• arbitrate on disputes in that system over matters relating to access, financial safety, competitiveness and systemic risk.
“The Act also gives the RBA extensive powers to gather information from a payment system.
“The group received advice that a formal request to the PSB will result in the PSB investigating our concerns. Potential outcomes of the investigation include the PSB :
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• designating PayPal as subject to the RBA's regulations;
• setting standards for the operation of PayPal which draw from the EFT Code of Conduct, or require that PayPal becomes a signatory to the Code;;
• removing eBay's ability to require sellers to offer PayPal as a payment option; and
• removing eBay's ability to restrict sellers from charging a fee or surcharge to buyers who pay by PayPal."
Continued on page 5.
