In late April, the French Autorité de la concurrence (Adc) issued its opinion on risks to competition in the payments sector stemming from the strength of large digital platforms. While the Adc is aware of the important role played by fintechs in developing new innovative services, the authority also highlights that Big Tech platforms (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay in particular) enjoy considerable advantages. They control ecosystems based on large networks of users, have access to large data sets, and have the technical capacity to make use of them.
The main risks identified are (i) strengthening the market power of Big Tech and foreclosure of consumers, (ii) risks linked to the holding of data by payment service providers who manage accounts, (iii) competitive risks associated with the use of blockchain, and (iv) calling into question the universal banking model and marginalisation of traditional banking players on which Big Tech relies for the implementation of payments.
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