Australia's central bank is urging eBay Inc. to rescind rules that prevent sellers on its online auction Web site there from steering buyers to specific payment methods and from imposing any surcharges to cover transaction fees.
The Reserve Bank of Australia said Wednesday that it had received numerous comments from consumers in recent months regarding the San Jose auction company's "no-surcharge" and "no-steering" rules.
"Where no-surcharge and no-steering rules have existed in other systems, the board has encouraged their removal on the grounds that these rules can diminish competition in the payments system," according to a notice posted on the Reserve Bank's Web site.
The company's Australian site says that it bars sellers from charging "buyers an additional fee for their use of ordinary forms of payment," and that sellers "must not act in any way to discourage buyers from paying" with any specific payment method.
The central bank said it will hold discussions shortly with eBay's PayPal Inc. "with a view to seeking the removal of these rules."
In April, eBay said that it planned to require Australian sellers to accept only PayPal for most transactions. The central bank ruled last month that this policy would limit competition, and eBay backed away from the proposal.
