The European Commission warned Hungary this week that it could face legal action for granting a state-run company exclusive rights to the national mobile payment system for certain public services. The setup restricts market competition, the commission claims, by forcing users to go through National Mobile Payment Ltd. when paying by mobile phone, for example, public parking.
“This new exclusive right unnecessarily and significantly restricts access to a market that was previously fully open to competition, thereby harming existing investors and dissuading future investors with no appropriate justification,” the EC said in a statement. Hungary has two months to respond to the claims before the case is handed over to the EU Court of Justice. The Hungarian Development Ministry told the Wall Street Journal that it intends to respond once it receives official notification.
