Are you using MB Way? Deco warns of risk of higher fees

Deco – The Portuguese Consumer Protection Association warned this Wednesday of the risk of increased fees on the MB Way service following the new regime for transfers between payment accounts.

This is in reference to the recent news that SIBS, the operator of the Multibanco network and the MB Way service, intends to allow the latter to be linked to payment accounts in addition to the existing solution for linking to payment cards.

In a statement, Deco expressed “its concern that this new regime may result in increased fees for transfers between payment accounts.”

“Linking MB Way to accounts will mean that transfers between users will be considered instant transfers,” so “they may be subject to the prices applicable to those transfers rather than the caps applicable to card-to-card transfers, as is currently the case, and if free transactions are exceeded – 0.2% for debit cards and 0.3% for credit cards,” he explains.

If this is the amount charged for MB Way transfers between accounts, the association stresses that it would be a “dramatic increase in fees on the average MB Way transfer amount of approximately 40 euros, which is between 10 and 80 cents or more than one euro.”

“This cost would be completely disproportionate, which is contrary to the law and would harm the interests of MB Way consumers, a product that is well received and accepted by the Portuguese and for which the application of disproportionate fees should be avoided,” he argues.

In this context, Deco reports that it has already sent a letter to the Ministries of Economy and Finance “requesting an urgent assessment and intervention to adapt the legislation and maintain the proportionality of the fees applicable to MB Way transfers.”