La documentación generada por el órgano judicial

6.2.1.2 With regard to the customer transactions of banks

In relation to banks and their customers, we did not find any signs of current government intervention in charged fees. In 1973 in Norway, however, the central bank criticised the free payment services, and following wide ranging and lengthy communications and the adoption of common principles, it laid the foundations for the transformation of the Norwegian payments market by securing the acceptance of higher fees for paper-based payment instruments (cheques, “yellow cheques”, paper-based credit transfers). From the middle of the 1980s until 2008, transaction pricing was in effect for all payment instruments. As a result, the direct financing of bank payments costs increased from 26% in 1988 to 71% in 2007, although differences remain very large between the individual products (only 27% for cash, 61% for payment cards and 140% for giro services88_).89

The process90 _{began on 1 January 1960, when salaries were transferred to bank accounts, leading to a rise in the use of banks. At the}

request of employers and trade unions, until 1966 banks agreed to temporarily provide this service free of charge for employers, employees and trade unions. In 1974, the fee exemption was extended for an additional four year period, bound to the use of cheques, provided that any modification would constitute the renegotiation of other elements of the agreement.

In 1973 the Banking Association conducted a campaign to reduce the use of cheques with a value of less than NOK 100. The governor of the central bank publicly criticised the free use of the given payment services for the first time in 1973. The report relating to the Norwegian budget, adopted in 1973, also put forth that cheque payments produce major costs for banks, and if banks were to charge a fee for the transaction of cheque payments, the increase of lending rates could be moderated and a clearer picture could emerge in terms of economics.

Professional work was conducted from 1972 in the various committees with the participation of the ministry of finance, the banks and other parties concerned; as a result, the estimates relating to bank unit costs and total costs were completed in 1979. The majority opinion of the committee supported the introduction of fees to promote a more rational use of resources. According to the plan, the banks were to initially provide four transactions a month free of charge (including cheque payments and cash outpayments), agreeing to a total of 15 cheque payments per quarter free of charge from 1978, but with a view to curbing rising inflation − the freezing of prices − the introduction of fees was not adopted due to the royal decree issued in 1978.

The decree relating to the freezing of prices was repealed in 1981 and the major banks began to charge fees for small-value cheques (with a value of less than NOK 150). As a new sign of support by administration, the budget relating to 1983 contained that banks must aim at setting prices/fees which cover the actual costs of their various services. The banks intended to introduce a unified fee for payment services, but the competition authority rejected their application in 1984. The largest bank, however, unilaterally introduced a fee for its payment services and the other banks followed suit, thus the charging of (transaction based) fees was introduced without statutory regulation.

In reaction to the banking crisis around 1990, in 1992 the ministry of finance, the central bank and the banking supervision authority unanimously agreed that the banks need to increase their fee revenues, including fee revenues from payments. In the same year a proposal was made for the harmonisation of bank and postal payment services in the sense that the cost recovery rate needs to be increased through direct pricing and the varying costs of the different services need to be reflected. Finally, the fees of postal payment services increased at a slower pace until 1996 than those of bank payment services. The fees of paper-based payment services continuously rose from 1990, while electronic based services did not increase. Statutory regulation91 _{was adopted in 1999 on the method}

of charging interest (with exclusion of the float).

The mass conversion from the use of paper-based payment instruments to electronic payment instruments evolved on a gradual basis in the course of the 1990s, but the process is still in progress. The table below provides an overview of the graduality of conversion.

88 _{Giro services are basically payment orders serving the settlement of public utility, telecommunications and other bills.} 89 _{Source: Norges Bank (2009).}

90 _{Source: Enge and Øwre (2006).}

SUMMARY OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

In the table we called an instrument similar to the Hungarian postal inpayment money order a “yellow cheque”, as it can also be paid in cash at the postal/bank counter. The change was principally attributed to the price and fee policy of banks, but also to the development of user friendly giro services; both the banking community and the public found that electronic services are faster, simpler to use and less costly than paper-based services.

In Canada, the government issued a code of conduct for the credit and debit card sector that aims at promoting a better understanding of costs and benefits related to payment cards by merchants and consumers.92

In the area of consumer protection, the law adopted in the United States93 _{in 2009 is noteworthy. Since 80% of American} families have credit cards and 44% of them have credit card debt, the government launched reforms to implement the following objectives94_:

− strong and reliable protection of consumers,

− provision of comprehensible, clear printed forms by card companies to consumers, − to ensure that holders can use credit cards without fear of exploitation,

− larger accountability and liability for participants which use infringing practices that defraud families and consumers. Main elements of the law:

− advance notification of interest rate increases and other material modifications (45 days prior to effective date), prohibition of the tightening of the terms of credit repayment related to the closing of an account,

− limitation of interest rate and fee increases (no modification of the contractual terms and conditions in the first year, rules relating to the charging of default interest),

− protection of young consumers: under the age of 21, credit cards may only be applied for with a co-signer,

− prohibition of the unreasonable fee trap: minimum 21-day deadline from mailing for the payment of the bill, confirmation of the reasonableness of interest calculation: the item with the highest interest rate is reducible with overpayment, − comprehensible and clear communication of terms and conditions prior to opening of account,

− fair information on the financial consequences of credit decisions.

The various studies suggest that corporates are more clearly informed of the fees of bank services, while the bank fees are frequently hidden for retail customers.

92 _{Source: Tumpel and Gugerell (2010).}

93 _{Source: US Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (2009).} 94 _{Source: US The White House (2009).}

Table 87

Norwegian giro payments from 1998 to 2009 (in millions)

year electronic giros Paper-based giros

Out of paper-based giros: “yellow cheque” (cash payments) 1988 35.0 233.7 1990 53.2 229.2 1995 101.7 222.9 62.5 2000 221.0 149.3 20.4 2005 411.8 68.6 2009 503.5 38.3 5.0

Box 7