German antitrust authority says PayPal practices may restrict competition

FRANKFURT, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Germany's antitrust authority, the Federal Cartel Office, said on Wednesday that a PayPal prohibition against online merchants charging customers extra fees to use the payment method may hinder competition and possibly violate the law.

• PayPal, one of the most common ways to pay online in Germany, said that it does not share the office's preliminary finding but that it would "continue to engage constructively in the proceedings".

• The cartel office, which opened an investigation in 2023, said that PayPal charges above-average fees compared with other payment methods and that its market share is also very high.

• "As long as PayPal has to be offered without extra charge, consumers have fewer incentives for using another payment method, which would also reduce the competitive pressure on PayPal’s merchant fees," the cartel office said.

• The office said that it was also considering whether PayPal may have to hand over profits it has gained through the practice and that PayPal now had the opportunity to comment on its preliminary findings.

(Reporting by Tom Sims and Matthias Inverardi, editing by Thomas Seythal)