Revised rules for payment services in the EU

SUMMARY OF:

Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on EU-wide payment services

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DIRECTIVE?

Directive (EU) 2015/2366 (known as the revised payment service directive or PSD2) provides the legal foundation for the further development of a better integrated internal market for electronic payments within the European Union (EU).
It establishes comprehensive rules for payment services*, with the goal of ensuring harmonised rules for the provision of payment services in the EU and a high level of consumer protection.
It seeks to open up payment markets to new entrants, leading to more competition, greater choice and better prices for consumers.
It provides the necessary legal basis for the single euro payments area.

It repealed Directive 2007/64/EC from 13 January 2018.

KEY POINTS

The directive sets out rules concerning:

a licensing regime for payment institutions, including those offering account information and payment initiation services (‘open banking’);
the transparency of conditions and information requirements for payment services, including charges;
the rights and obligations of users and providers of payment services;
strict security requirements for electronic payments and the protection of consumers’ financial data, in order to guarantee safe authentication and reduce the risk of fraud.

The directive is complemented by Regulation (EU) 2015/751, which caps the interchange fees charged between banks for card-based transactions. This is expected to drive down the costs for businesses in accepting consumer debit and credit cards.

Towards a better integration of the EU payments market

The directive establishes a clear and comprehensive set of rules that apply to existing and new providers of innovative payment services. These rules seek to ensure that these providers can compete on equal terms, leading to greater efficiency, choice and transparency of payment services, while strengthening consumer trust in a harmonised payments market.

Opening up the EU market to new services and providers

The directive also aims to open up the EU payment market to companies offering consumer- or business-oriented payment services based on access to the payment account, particularly:

account information services, which allow payment service users to, for example, have an overview of their financial situation at any time, allowing users to better manage their personal finances;
payment initiation services, which initiate an order at the request of the payment service user with respect to a payment account held at another payment service provider.

Consumer rights

Consumer rights are enhanced, including:
- reduced liability for non-authorised payments from €150 to €50;
- an unconditional refund right for direct debits in euro for a period of 8 weeks;
- the removal of surcharges for the use of consumer credit or debit cards.
The European Commission produced a user-friendly electronic leaflet listing consumers’ rights under the directive and related EU law.

Authorisation of payment institutions

The directive does not substantially change the conditions for granting authorisation to payment institutions compared to Directive 2007/64/EC. However, payment institutions offering payment initiation services or account information services will be required to have professional indemnity insurance or a comparable guarantee as a condition of authorisation or registration, respectively. The directive also contains rules on the supervision of authorised payment institutions, along with measures in case of non-compliance.

Role of the European Banking Authority (EBA)

The role of the EBA is strengthened, in order to:

develop a publicly accessible central register of authorised payment institutions, which must be kept up to date by national authorities;
assist in resolving disputes between national authorities;
develop regulatory technical standards for items including:
- strong customer authentication and secure communication channels, with which all payment service providers must comply,
- regulatory technical standards for cooperation and information exchange between supervisory authorities.

The Commission has adopted the following implementing and delegated acts with regards to implementing or regulatory technical standards respectively.

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/2055 on the cooperation and exchange of information between relevant authorities, relating to the right of establishment and the freedom to provide services of payment institutions.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/389 (as amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2360) on customer authentication and common and secure open standards of communication.
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/410 on the details and structure of the information to be notified by relevant authorities to the EBA in the field of payment services.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/411 on the development, operation and maintenance of the electronic central register within the field of payment services, and on access to the information contained in this register.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1423 on the criteria for appointing central contact points within the field of payment services and on the functions of those central contact points.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1722 on the framework for cooperation and the exchange of information between the relevant Member States’ authorities in the context of cross-border provision of payment services.

FROM WHEN DO THE RULES APPLY?

The directive had to be transposed into national law by 13 January 2018.

BACKGROUND

For further information, see:

Payment services (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

Payment services. Services enabling cash to be placed on or withdrawn from a payment account, along with all of the operations required to operate the account. This can include transfers of funds, direct debits, credit transfers and card payments. The directive does not cover paper transactions.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, pp. 35–127).

Successive amendments to Directive (EU) 2015/2366 have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2360 of 3 August 2022 amending the regulatory technical standards laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/389 as regards the 90-day exemption for account access (OJ L 312, 5.12.2022, pp. 1–4).

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1722 of 18 June 2021 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the framework for cooperation and the exchange of information between competent authorities of the home and the host Member States in the context of supervision of payment institutions and electronic money institutions exercising cross-border provision of payment services (OJ L 343, 28.9.2021, pp. 1–30).

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1423 of 14 March 2019 on supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards on the criteria for appointing central contact points within the field of payment services and on the functions of those central contact points (OJ L 328, 9.10.2020, pp. 1–3).

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/410 of 29 November 2018 laying down implementing technical standards with regard to the details and structure of the information to be notified, in the field of payment services, by competent authorities to the European Banking Authority pursuant to Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 73, 15.3.2019, pp. 20–83).

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/411 of 29 November 2018 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards setting technical requirements on development, operation and maintenance of the electronic central register within the field of payment services and on access to the information contained therein (OJ L 73, 15.3.2019, pp. 84–92).

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/389 of 27 November 2017 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for strong customer authentication and common and secure open standards of communication (OJ L 69, 13.3.2018, pp. 23–43).

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/2055 of 23 June 2017 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for the cooperation and exchange of information between competent authorities relating to the exercise of the right of establishment and the freedom to provide services of payment institutions (OJ L 294, 11.11.2017, pp. 1–25).

Regulation (EU) 2015/751 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions (OJ L 123, 19.5.2015, pp. 1–15).

last update 20.02.2023