Parliament seeks to limit MB Way fees

According to the Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection DECO, customers could face “a brutal increase” in MB Way fees.

The Portuguese Parliament has put forward proposals to limit fees on the popular MB Way transfer service.

The Greens (PAN) and the Socialist Party (PS) have already floored initiatives to this effect and other parliamentary groups are also studying the issue and preparing projects, according to ECO.

The move comes after the Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection DECO warned that, without changes to the law, customers could face “a brutal increase” in MB Way fees.

For instance, on a 40 euros MB Way transfer (which is the average amount), the fee could rise from around 10 cents to 80 cents or more than one euro.

“This amount would be totally disproportionate, contrary to the law and damaging to consumers’ interests in MB Way,” said DECO.

This happens because the underlying payment service, called SIBS - Forward Payment Solutions, will allow transfers to be made on the basis of accounts, whereas currently these operations work with bank cards.

This will mean that MB Way transfers will now be considered immediate bank transfers and therefore may be subject to the pricing applicable to such transfers by each bank.

Furthermore, they will not be subject to the limits applicable to transfers on bank cards, which establish that transactions of up to 30 euros are free, up to a monthly limit of 150 euros or 25 transactions.

The Bank of Portugal and other banks (including Caixa) have already publicly stated that the Government should legislate to address this issue, but it has yet to make a statement on the matter.

While the Executive decides what to do, Parliament has taken the lead in the process and has even presented two proposals aimed precisely at limiting a rise in MB Way commissions.

Both the PAN and PS proposals aim to apply the rules that already exist for card-based transfers to account-based transfers.

Chega and the Left Bloc are also reportedly considering presenting their proposals.

The MB Way app can be installed on your phone (iOS or Android).