A MUTLI-BANKING app that allows users to send and make immediate payments, similar to services like Revolut, which was to be run by four Irish banks, has been rejected by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). 

The proposed joint venture between AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB and KBC Bank Ireland was notified to the CCPC earlier this month. 

A spokesperson for the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) did not engage with the issue and said that it “welcomed” the move.

“We see this as a return of the application form. We welcome the CCPC’s statement of their willingness to engage with the parties involved in relation to the issues which they have raised and we look forward to engaging with them on all of the detail”.

The CCPC said in a statement this evening that it has rejected the merger notification relating to the proposed joint venture between the four banks. 

The Commission said the banks failed to provide full details of the proposed transaction as required under Section 18(12) of the Competition Act 2002. 

“The CCPC has written to the notifying parties informing them of its decision and expressed its willingness to further engage with the notifying parties in relation to the issues raised in its letter,” the CCPC said. 

The initial CCPC merger notification said the project would involve an industry-wide mobile payment system that can be used by all financial institutions in the country, subject to licensing terms. 

A spokesperson for the BPFI at the time confirmed the creation of a new company called Synch Payments DAC.

The spokesperson said the aim of the company is to “deliver a multi-banking payment app that will enable Irish users to send and make payments in real time”.