Lisbon, May 9, 2025 (Lusa) - The Bank of Portugal has submitted its response to the lawsuit filed against it by the payment company SIBS earlier this year, according to information obtained by Lusa from sources close to the case.

The Bank of Portugal's (BdP) response was submitted on 29 April to the Lisbon Administrative Court.

At issue is European legislation on which the Bank of Portugal and SIBS have different interpretations, starting with the separation between payment systems and processing systems, and the corrective measures imposed by the banking supervisor and regulator on the company that owns Multibanco and MB Way.

In January, Expresso reported that SIBS had filed an administrative action against the Bank of Portugal in the Lisbon Administrative Court.

When contacted by Lusa, neither SIBS nor BdP provided any information.

Still on the subject of European legislation, the BdP is analysing SIBS' compliance with the determinations it issued. Ultimately, it may take measures. The BdP has not commented on this matter either.

SIBS's relationship with the Bank of Portugal has been marked by several disagreements in recent years. In 2022, the Bank of Portugal issued a corrective measure directed at SIBS to ensure independence between card payment systems and processing entities operating in Portugal, providing a level playing field for all operators wishing to operate in the Portuguese payments market.

In March last year, the Competition Authority (AdC) fined the SIBS group almost €14 million for abusing a dominant position in the payment services sector. The group had made access to payment systems conditional on contracting its processing services.

SIBS challenged the decision in court before the Competition, Regulation and Supervision Tribunal.

SIBS's shareholders include most of the major banks operating in Portugal, with Caixa Geral de Depósitos, BCP, Santander and BPI being the largest shareholders.

IM/ADB // ADB.

Lusa