CCCS issues PID against remittance service providers for anti-competitive exchange of price information

27 November 2024

On 25 November 2024, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS”) issued a Proposed Infringement Decision (“PID”) against two remittance service providers (“Parties”) for infringing section 34 of the Competition Act 2004 (“Act”). Section 34 prohibits agreements between undertakings, decisions by associations of undertakings or concerted practices that are anti-competitive, unless they are excluded or exempted under the Act.

CCCS found that the Parties had exchanged information on each other’s outward remittance rates for the Chinese Yuan (or Ren Min Bi) (“RMB”) (“Information Exchange Conduct”) instead of determining their rates independently, thus removing the risks of price competition and significantly reducing the uncertainty between the Parties about the prevailing outward RMB remittance rate each Party was offering to customers at any given time. The Parties were found to have engaged in the Information Exchange Conduct for more than six years, from at least 1 January 2016 to 22 February 2022.

CCCS views the Information Exchange Conduct as inherently anti-competitive as it diminishes the pressure on competing providers to offer consumers competitive rates.

About PID

The PID is a legal notice that presents the facts and reasoning behind CCCS’s proposed decision.

It is issued to the Parties confidentially to assist them to make representations and provide any other information in support of their representations for CCCS’s consideration. CCCS will carefully consider the representations, and all available information and evidence, before making its final decision.

Reference materials

The media release titled “CCCS issues Proposed Infringement Decision against remittance service providers for unlawful exchange of price information” is available on the CCCS website www.cccs.gov.sg.