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Banks' bid to rival Revolut ruled 'invalid'

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has rejected an application made by four of the main Irish banks to develop a money transfer app known as Synch.

The aim of the plan was to allow consumers to transfer money to each other in real time, and it was seen as a response to the challenges posed by the popularity of digital banking apps such as Revolut.

AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB and KBC Bank Ireland are the banks involved.

Not enough detail

Despite the rejection, the commission has expressed its willingness to engage further with the banks on the issues raised in their letter.

The CCPC said the banks had not provided enough detail to enable it to decide whether the initiative could be defined as a ‘merger or acquisition’ under the meaning of section 16 of the Competition Act 2002.

As a result, the competition body rejected the notification as invalid.