Key facts
- The Federal Cartel Office said its view of PayPal's merchant fee ban is a preliminary assessment, not a final decision.
- PayPal's rule stops online merchants from adding a surcharge for customers who choose to pay with PayPal.
- PayPal did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Germany's Federal Cartel Office said on November 11 that PayPal's prohibition against online merchants charging customers extra fees to use the payment method may restrict competition and violate the law.
"According to the Bundeskartellamt's preliminary assessment, this prohibition could restrict competition between various payment services and violate competition law," the cartel office said, referring to itself by its German name.
The authority's statement frames the finding as a preliminary assessment rather than a final ruling. PayPal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.