Unlike consumers, industry is pleased with the new rules on safety for payment services suggested by the European Banking Authority (EBA).
In a press release issued on Friday 24 February, Wim Mijs, for the European Banking Federation, said a revolution was under way in the electronic payments sector and the payment services directive is key to this transformation. He said the new EBA rules are a reasonable compromise, encouraging real verification of clients, stimulating the growth of e-commerce and providing a suitable foundation for an open and safe European payments ecosystem. He urged the European legislator to rapidly endorse the new rules.
To the dismay of the European consumers’ bureau (BEUC, see EUROPE 11732), the EBA suggested that remote payments of below €30 should not be covered by strict client identification rules and security rules should apply to remote payments of between €30 and €500 in line with observed levels of fraud.
Speaking on behalf of the e-commerce sector in Europe, the Ecommerce Europe organisation says that the EBA’s approach preserves the industry’s trading models and increases the overall level of security and trust in electronic payments. It calls on the Commission to endorse a risk-based approach for all transactions of under €100. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)