As anticipated yesterday, tomorrow is the deadline for MS to implement the Payment Services Directive two. Here some recap and useful links.
While the stop to payment surcharges may be the most visible change for consumers, the Directive contains a number of other rules aimed at facilitating market entry for a number of operators providing payment-related services, next to some additional consumer-friendly provisions (for instance, consumers will bear no responsibility for online frauds if their bank has authorised payments without identification procedures).
The ban on surcharges, to which MS were allowed to make exceptions for a limited set of cases (business cards, PayPal, Amex...), is applicable both on- and offline. There seems to be nothing, however, in respect of traders who simply refuse non-cash payments - which is the problem consumers most often encounter in high-street shopping.
For retailers, the new possible burden is alleviated by the Directive's interaction with Regulation 2015/751, which aims to reduce the interbank exchange charges ultimately making card payments expensive for consumer service providers.
A summary of the main points addressed by the Directive is available here. BEUC, the consumer union, celebrates the news but also points out that some countries - like Belgium and Slovenia - have already announced delays in implementation.
