The Competition Committee has granted the payment service Payme the status of a digital platform operator with a dominant position. This was reported by the agency's press service.
The regulatory authority issued the corresponding order in accordance with the regulations on recognizing dominant positions for digital platforms. The document was approved in May 2024 and outlines the criteria based on which a platform is designated as dominant.
It is noted that Payme notified the Committee about achieving a dominant status.
According to the regulation, digital platforms are recognized as dominant if they exhibit a network effect and meet one of the two criteria:
- annual revenue from sales of over 100,000 BRW (37.5 billion soums);
- more than 50,000 monthly active end-users or over 3,000 monthly active business-users.
Additionally, the status is granted to platforms that account for more than 40% of a specific market, regardless of the number of users. This status will be reviewed every three years.
Operators with a dominant position or superior bargaining power are prohibited from actions aimed at restricting competition. In particular, they are not allowed to prevent entrepreneurs from negotiating with users outside the platform.
The use of data from entrepreneurs competing with the platform is not permitted without their consent. It is also prohibited to restrict the sale or purchase of products from competitors or to promote one's own goods and services on more favorable terms compared to offers from users or third parties.
Moreover, it is forbidden to deprive users of the ability to install third-party applications and services. Unjustified deterioration of service quality or limitation of the ability to switch to another service provider is also not allowed.
Earlier, Spot reported that the Competition Committee approved the acquisition of the SDK Group plant by the Emirati company Naphtha Group LLC-FZ.