The European Payments Service Directive II (PSD2), in force since January 2018, is currently stirring debate among Member States regarding the process of its implementation. The Directive is designed to harmonize and simplify money transfers inside the EU, decrease fraud in online payments, and inform consumers about the rights and obligations.
The revised PSD2 extends several obligations concerning data protection and information to and from international payments. It mandates stronger security requirements for online transactions and obliges providers to request customer authentication and demands they register. While the PSD2 compliance date was set for September 2019, the European Banking Authority unconditionally extended the implementation period in order to allow for full application of the new requirements. Nevertheless, a fixed common EU-wide transition period, agreed upon by Member States, is anticipated by the European Commission in order to ensure state-wide compliance.
Enforcement of PSD2 will allow consumers and merchants to increasingly benefit from the internal market and e-commerce. Its efficient integration will increase competitiveness and cost-efficiency for consumers and service providers. PSD2 will allow companies, other than banks, to offer new financial services to the public with consumers’ consent.