MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) voted, on Wednesday 14 February, with 39 votes in favour, 1 against and 3 abstentions, in favour of the draft report by Marek Belka (S&D, Polish) on a revision of the Payment Services Regulation (PSR).
MEPs want greater and harmonised protection for users of ordinary and electronic payment services in the EU against fraud and misuse of data.
They also call for greater transparency in the charges for these services. In the event of a withdrawal, institutions would be required to explicitly inform consumers of any additional charges prior to a transaction.
The issue of the burden of proof, which makes it possible to attribute responsibility to the consumer or payment service provider in the event of fraud, has been at the heart of discussions between MEPs on their draft compromises in recent weeks (see EUROPE 13341/6).
On this point, the representative of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (‘CCIA Europe’) expressed, on Wednesday, “serious concerns”, stating that extending liability for online fraud would be tantamount to transferring responsibility from banks to online platforms.
“Today’s vote unfortunately confirms the ECON Committee’s decision to help big banks escape their own responsibility when consumers are defrauded, while using the very payment methods that banks specifically charge them for”, commented Boniface de Champris, Senior Policy Officer at CCIA Europe, in a statement.
However, Lidia Pereira (EPP, Portuguese) claimed that the rules would ensure “balanced obligations for providers”.
“EU consumers will have a clear set of rules on liability and on the way to proceed when one of them is victim of fraud”, she said in a statement.
MEPs also want to create a more level playing field between banks and other service providers.
“With Parliament’s proposal, we put the citizen in the centre, while – at the same time – outlining a framework for a true level-playing field in the European Single Market for payments”, said Marek Belka (S&D, Polish).
Link to the latest draft compromises on the ‘PSR’ regulation: https://aeur.eu/f/aux
Directive PSD3. Also on Wednesday, MEPs voted (37 in favour, 1 against and 6 abstentions) in favour of the draft report by Ondřej Kovařík (Renew Europe, Czech), with a view to a new directive on payment services (‘PSD3’).
“Parliament’s position will ensure certainty and lower the burden for both PSPs and national competent authorities, particularly avoiding potentially cumbersome reauthorisation processes. Importantly, we have doubled the cash limit for withdrawals of cash at retail stores”, said Mr Kovařík. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)