The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has launched competition supervision proceedings against two companies operating bank card terminals, Fizetési Pont Terminálüzemeltető Kft. and OFSZ. Országos Fizetési Szolgáltató Zrt., following a surge of complaints from business partners about their commercial practices.
According to the authority, recent market signals prompted a preliminary assessment suggesting that the companies may have engaged in conduct capable of unfairly influencing the business decisions of their partners. The investigation will examine whether the firms misled merchants and restricted their ability to make independent contractual choices.
GVH suspects that the companies may have failed to properly disclose key information regarding automatic contract renewals and penalty clauses. The authority believes that important contractual terms may have been concealed or presented in a way that was unclear, ambiguous, or communicated too late for business partners to make informed decisions.
The competition watchdog is also examining allegations that the companies pressured merchants by threatening contract termination and imposing significant penalties in order to encourage inactive or former partners to maintain existing agreements or sign new ones. In addition, the investigation will consider whether customers were misled in the promotion of fees related to POS terminal services and through the use of the “POS Terminal Operator of the Year” award in marketing materials.
The launch of the proceedings does not mean that the companies have committed any infringement. The investigation aims to clarify the facts and determine whether competition rules have been violated. Under the applicable procedural framework, the authority has three months to conduct the inquiry, although this period may be extended twice by up to two months in justified cases.
The case is another instance in which the companies have come under scrutiny from the Hungarian competition authority. In earlier proceedings concluded in the spring of 2023, GVH determined that Fizetési Pont and OFSZ had misled their business partners regarding certain contractual conditions and associated benefits.
