Competition committee fine JCC

The Commission for the Protection of Competition yesterday fined JCC Payment Systems £373,374.49 for various violations.

JCC Payment Systems Limited had been under investigation for overcharging card owners and reaping the profits. Giorgos Christofides, head of the Committee of Protection of Competition, had stated that JCC was at first sight in breach the law of embezzlement of a despotic position. Also under investigation by the committee are three banks, Laiki, Bank of Cyprus and Hellenic, that appear to be in breech of various contracts.

The committee yesterday found JCC guilty and in a written announcement noted that the company had violated competition regulations and had been penalized accordingly.

But JCC later issued an announcement of their own stating that ‘they respect the role of the Commission for the Protection of Competition and that they would undertake all necessary measures to ensure that violations are not repeated.’

JCC is the primary processor of credit card transactions on the island and, according to company officials, “maintains a client base of registered merchants who choose to accept credit cards as payment for the products and/or services they offer to their own customers.”

The company, which was formed in 1987 by the Bank of Cyprus, is now comprised of a consortium made up of all the major banks on the island including Hellenic Bank, National Bank of Greece and Arab Bank.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.