The European Commission welcomes today's political agreement on the proposal for a revised Directive on Payment Services. The agreement follows so-called trilogue negotiations between the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The revised Payment Services Directive (known as PSD2) brings a number of new important elements and improvements to the EU payment market. The agreed proposal aims to improve consumer protection against fraud, possible abuses and payment incidents, such as disputed transactions. The new measures will also ensure that all payment providers active in the EU are subject to supervision and appropriate rules. This should create the right incentives for the emergence of new players and the development of innovative mobile and internet payments in Europe. This means more choice and better conditions for consumers and businesses.
"Today's agreement is an important step forward in making electronic payments for consumers safer as well as encouraging competition and innovation," said Jonathan Hill, EU Commissioner responsible for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union. "I would like to thank the Parliament and the Latvian Presidency of the Council for their efforts in reaching this agreement."
The formal adoption of the proposal is expected later this year.
Background:
The European Commission proposed a revised Payment Services Directive as part of its payment package in July 2013 (see IP/13/730 and MEMO/13/719). Although significant progress has been made in integrating retail payments in the EU into the current legislative framework on payments, several important areas of the payments market – such as card, internet and mobile payments - are still fragmented along national borders.
The proposal aims to 1) Improve consumer protection against fraud, possible abuses and payment incidents through enhanced security requirements that make strong customer authentication for online payments compulsory and 2) Promote competition through a regulatory framework conducive to the emergence of new players and the development of innovative mobile and internet payments in Europe.
In addition, the European Banking Authority (EBA) will be asked to issue guidelines and draft regulatory technical standards in various fields, for example to ensure the establishment of adequate security measures or in order to clarify the rules on ‘passporting’ for payment institutions operating in several Member States. Passporting would allow firms to conduct business anywhere in the EU, provided they fulfil the relevant EU rules.
For more information: