27 June 2003 12:00am

New Zealand's Commerce Commission is to undertake a wide ranging examination into credit and debit card interchange in an echo of the detailed reviews of interchange arrangements in Australia. The Commerce Commission will also study the setting of merchant service fees.

The Commerce Commission advises some banks earlier this month of their intention to undertake the investigation. As yet there is no formal notification to banks, and it is unclear whether the examination will be an informal assessment, or a formal investigation, or how long the examination might take.