Online payments: better protection for EU consumers

Commissioner Jonathan Hill, responsible for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, said: "European consumers want to be assured that their payments are safe when they shop or make a payment online. The new Payment Services Directive will ensure that electronic payments in Europe are more secure and convenient for European consumers. This Legal act is a step toward a digital single market; it will benefit consumers and businesses and contribute to economic growth."

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, responsible for competition policy, said: "We have already used the EU's competition rules to allow new and innovative players to compete for digital payment services alongside banks and other incumbents. Today's vote by the Parliament builds on this by creating a legal framework that facilitates market entry for such new players and ensures that they offer secure and efficient payment services. The new directive will bring significant benefits to European consumers by simplifying online purchases and encouraging the emergence of new bank account management services, such as keeping track of spending on different accounts."

The revised Payment Services Directive fits into a series of legislation recently adopted by the EU to create modern, efficient and cost-effective payment services and achieve better protection for European consumers and businesses.

What changes?

The new regulations bring the following changes:

• Strict security requirements for initiating and processing electronic payments and protecting consumers' financial data will be introduced;
• the EU payments market will be opened up to so-called payment initiation service providers and account information service providers - these are service providers that provide payment services to consumers or businesses based on access to payment account information;
• consumer rights are strengthened, for example by reducing liability for unauthorized payment transactions and introducing an unconditional refund right for direct debits in euros (no questions asked); and
• the charging of surcharges (additional costs for the right to pay with a card, for example) is prohibited, regardless of whether the respective payment instrument is used in a store or online.

Following the vote in Parliament, the directive will soon be formally adopted by the EU Council of Ministers. It will then be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. From that date, the member states will have two years to make the necessary adjustments to their national legislation to apply the new rules.

EU Press Release