Major mobile wallet operators in the Nordics, Vipps, MobilePay and OP Pivo, together with their owner banks, agreed to form a joint venture. The transaction was set to create a key player in the Nordic payment market. Copenhagen Economics was engaged to support the client in the notification process in front of the European Commission.
Copenhagen Economics supported the client by carrying structural market analysis across the payments value chain.
We provided data-intensive analysis on several segments of the payment space. Our economic support, in close collaboration with the legal advisors, covered the entire competitive assessment analysis. We addressed the competitive effect of complex vertical and conglomerate links between mobile operators and the owner banks using economic theories and evidence. We further assisted the client throughout the process in the responses to extensive European Commission requests for information.
Having identified potential concerns with the initially proposed transaction, the European Commission cleared the refiled transaction.
