The Swiss Federal Administrative Court confirmed that stock exchange operator SIX Group AG must pay a fine of about CHF7.0 million for abusing its dominant market position as a card acquirer between 2005 and 2007, upholding a previous decision by Swiss Competition Commission.

The court said SIX Group forced merchants to use its payment card terminals if they sought to use its acceptance and currency conversion services. The ruling could be appealed to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.

SIX Group sold its payment service unit to French payment processor Worldline SA in 2018.