ACCC drops Australian eBay probe after payment changes

Two years ago, eBay Australia tried to force sellers to use PayPal as the only available payment option on the online auction giant’s local site.That attempt went horribly wrong and, apart from the bad press, eBay found itself in trouble with the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and the Reserve Bank.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/ebay-learns-from-paypal-lessons/story-e6frgakx-1225865929473Also see:eBay sellers can drop PayPal: ACCC
EBay Australia sellers will no longer be forced to offer PayPal as a payment mechanism following the intervention of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).Two years ago, eBay made two significant moves — it tried to mandate that sellers offer PayPal and pushed for PayPal to be the only electronic payment platform on ebay.com.au.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/ebay-sellers-can-drop-paypal-accc/story-e6frgakx-1225866235856eBay bows to ACCC pressure
The Australian version of auction website eBay will change its website and payment policies in July, removing the rule that sellers must offer PayPal as a payment option.The decision was made following an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) investigation into complaints that the auction site’s mandate might be reducing the level of payment method competition in the market.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/ebay-bows-to-accc-pressure-339303125.htmACCC welcomes changes to eBay payment policies [news release]
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission welcomes the announcement by eBay that it will change the ebay.com.au website and payment policies to remove the requirement that sellers offer PayPal as a payment option.The ACCC has been investigating complaints that eBay and its Australian subsidiaries, eBay Australia and New Zealand Pty Ltd and PayPal Australia Pty Ltd, may have engaged in conduct that had the effect of, or was likely to have the effect of, substantially lessening competition in contravention of section 45 of the Trade Practices Act 1974.While the ACCC had not formed a final view, following meetings with senior eBay staff eBay has introduced and brought forward changes to its payments policy which the ACCC considers will give its members greater flexibility in choosing payment options.”The ACCC welcomes the action taken by eBay which gives eBay sellers further choice as to the payment system they use, while ensuring consumers are offered safer payment options by all eBay sellers,” ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said today.It is not customary for the ACCC to refer to investigations that are not in the public arena, however a substantial number of complaints have been received about certain eBay policies which affect the offering and acceptance by eBay traders of online payment services. The ACCC considered a large amount of information as part of its investigation and considers this is an appropriate outcome.”The ACCC acknowledges eBay’s cooperation with the ACCC’s inquiries and appreciates the work done by it to address our concerns,” Mr Samuel said.The ACCC has decided to discontinue its current inquiries into eBay’s payment policies. However, this does not restrict the ACCC from reviewing the effects of eBay or PayPal’s conduct in Australia if it raises competition concerns in the future.
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/928034/fromItemId/142