MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) examined, on Tuesday 28 March, the report by Michiel Hoogeveen (ECR, Dutch) on instant credit transfers in euros. There was consensus within ECON on the need to implement this measure quickly.
Presented in October (see EUROPE 13051/16), this European Commission initiative aims to require payment services providers, offering credit transfer services in euros, to offer instant payments for no additional costs. It would also require banks to offer a service to check the match between the IBAN account number and the name to avoid errors and fraud (see EUROPE 13131/20).
Among the 13 amendments submitted by the rapporteur, the latter proposes that the number of each act should be free of charge.
He deplored that, although the technology is widely available, it only covered 11% of the EU transfers made in 2021. Floating payments are estimated to represent €200 billion per year.
“Non-discriminatory pricing will increase the uptake of instant payments until instant credit transfers become the new norm and email name check will keep our consumers safe”, argued Mr Hoogeveen.
The proposal was endorsed by other MEPs, including Isabel Benjumea Benjumea (EPP, Spanish), who spoke on behalf of her compatriot José Manuel García-Margallo Y Marfil and Claude Gruffat (Greens/EFA, French).
The latter spoke in favour of a clear, complete and free IBAN check. A point also defended by Marek Belka (S&D, Polish): “The IBAN check should be done free of charge so that we do not create a loophole for credit providers to charge for such a device”.
The rapporteur clarified as well the execution of bulk and paper payments and the requirements for sanctions. He also called for a review of the Settlement Finality Directive with a view to broadening the scope of payment service providers included in the current legislation, which would better reflect the situation.
Ivars Ijabs (Renew Europe, Latvian) said it was important to increase transparency, including an obligation for payment service providers to inform customers of their rights and duties. He also wants to “limit the payment methods subject to this legislation in order to avoid inflicting unjustifiable financial costs on financial institutions which will then be passed on to consumers”. He also wants consumers to have the option to opt in and opt out of using these services at any time.
Ondřej Kovařík (Renew Europe, Czech), for his part, mentioned “the need to ensure that this framework will also work for payments between euro and non-euro EU currencies”.
The deadline for tabling amendments is Monday 17 April.
To consult the report: https://aeur.eu/f/641 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)