European lawmakers in Brussels have reached an informal agreement on a revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) which authorities hope will boost competition and innovation while improving the consumer experience and importantly their security. The agreement comes after negotiations between the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers came together but a formal agreement must be finalized before a vote by MEPs and establishment across member states.
According to the parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee the informal agreement would widen consumer choice by ensuring that a consumer using an online account like a traditional checking account to allow authorized or trusted third party to access the account and to complete transactions on behalf of the consumer.
Commenting on the regulations MEP Antonio Tajani said,
“The new regulatory framework will reduce costs, improve the security of payments and facilitate the emergence of new players and innovative new mobile and internet payment methods.”
PSD2 has been in the works for a number of years now and any formal agreement and what is included won’t be a particular surprise to the industry. Nonetheless, the continued push by regulators in Brussels to increase regulation within the payments space will eventually have an impact by slowing innovation and growth as revenues decline and costs grow for players.
Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, Global Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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