Payment Services
Law Blog

As is generally known, the supervisory authorities have had to decide on numerous negative clearances regarding eCommerce platforms over the past two years. These were – in their own understandable interest – intending to collect payments from end-consumers for vendors of goods and services offered on the platform. In most cases these companies were relying on an exemption from the authorisation requirement created by PSD1 which applied to payment transactions through a commercial agent authorised to negotiate or conclude the sale or purchase of goods or services on behalf of the payer or the payee. On 24th of July 2013 the European Commission published a proposal for a new Directive on payment services in the internal market (PSD2), in which the Commission argues for a stricter assessment of such exception rule.

On 24th of July 2013 the European Commission published a proposal for a new Directive on payment services in the internal market (PSD2), repealing the previous payment services Directive from 13th of November 2007 (2007/64/EC – PSD1). Within the framework of PSD2 the Commission has closely reviewed the exception for limited networks. was considered necessary due to the increasing application of the exception to large networks with high payment volumes and a broad spectrum of goods and services extending beyond the purpose of the exception, and thus leading to large payment volumes being outside of regulation and creating a disadvantage in competition for players in regulated markets.

On 24th of July 2013 the European Commission published a proposal for a new Directive on payment services in the internal market (PSD2), repealing the previous payment services Directive from 13th of November 2007 (2007/64/EC – PSD1). The draft creates, among numerous other proposals, a new category of institutions requiring authorisation. The provision predominantly targets services such as German Sofort Überweisung, Dutch iDeal or Swedish Trustly.