An end to high banking transfer charges in the EU?

On 28^th March, the EU Commission put forward a Proposal for a Regulation that will reduce charges for bank transfers in the European Union outside the euro area. This initiative is aiming at making the banking union ever closer, especially in retail banking where there have been fewer actions compared to prudential regulation.

Thanks to Regulation 924/2009 fees for cross-border payments in euros between euro area members have been equalised. However, the situation in non- euro zone EU countries is very different with consumers often paying expensive fees even for the transfer of small amounts of money. As mentioned in the press release for the Proposal, consumers in some instances were called to pay as much as 24 euro charges for the transfer of 10 euros, making it highly detrimental to consumers.

The proposed Regulation amends Regulation 924/2009 and aims at removing this perceived barrier to the single market by extending its scope to non-euro area Member States. It must be noted that the proposed regulation only covers transactions in euros and not in other currencies. Regulation 924/2009 offered the possibility to extend the regulation to other currencies, yet only Sweden has made used of that rule. Therefore, the Commission decided this was the time to introduce this measure as now euro payments are cheaper than they were in the past.

The effect of the Proposal is two-fold, as it harmonises cross-border banking charges as well as improving transparency. According to the Proposal charges for cross-border payments in euros will be the same as charges for national (non-euro) payments. This means that the transfer fees will be significantly lower if not nonexistent. Consumer will not be the only ones to benefit, as also businesses will be able to be more competitive to businesses operating in the euro area.

As for transparency, at present consumers are not able to compare options, especially when paying with a card where they are offered the option to pay either in the local currency or in their home currency. The Proposal tackles this issue by obliging payment service providers to offer the full cost of both options to consumers prior to the initiation of a payment transaction. Furthermore, recognising the constant technological advances in the field, the European Banking Authority (EBA) will develop regulatory technical standards on how payment service providers are to fulfill their transparency obligations as well as being able to place caps on such conversion charges.

The Proposal has been positively received by consumer organisations, as reported in a euractiv article .Indeed this is a positive development for EU consumers and should it be voted in the Parliament as it will have a tangible effect on their everyday transactions making them easier and cheaper and making the banking union ever closer.

EU Commission announces measures for completing the Banking Union

As announced by President Juncker in his State of the Union Address the EU Commission issued a Communication on the measures it will take for the completion of the banking union. The banking union is seen by the Commission as essential for the good functioning of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and its ambitious goal is for the banking union to be completed by 2019. For that purpose, a range of initiatives were announced. This post will focus on the two developments which are more relevant for consumer law which are: the measures on the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) and on reducing the level of non-performing loans (NPLs). 

EDIS is a key component for the Banking Union as it will ensure that all depositors in the EU enjoy the same level of protection and the banking system will be more resilient against future crises. Unfortunately, though the Proposal for EDIS was brought in November 2015, the negotiations between the EU Parliament and the Council have been brought to a halt as there is limited political consensus. In order to address the concerns voiced during the negotiations, the EU Commission suggests that EDIS will be introduced more gradually, taking into account the progress made on risk reduction. In the first re-insurance phase, EDIS would provide only liquidity coverage and no loss coverage. Also, the move to the second phase of co-insurance would not be automatic but only when certain conditions, such as the level of Non-Performing Loans, would be satisfied. Furthermore, measures would be taken to enhance cooperation between national deposit guarantee schemes, national authorities, the Single Resolution Board and the European Banking Authority. The Commission is keen to achieve progress in negotiations aiming to adopt the proposal in 2018.

As for Non-Performing Loans (NPLs), while their level has fallen, they continue to present an important systemic risk and the EU Commission takes a holistic approach in tackling the problem of existing NPLs as well as taking steps to ensure they do not build up again in the future. Part of that is regulating Asset Management Companies, developing secondary markets for NPLs and enhancing the protection of secured creditors. Another measure that might prove interesting also for legal scientists is that of increased transparency on NPLs in Europe as more data will be available and comparable, making it possible to examine the NPLs market in different jurisdictions and on an EU level.

The completion of the Banking Union would be a positive development also for EU consumers and hopefully serve to avoid a repetition of the recent financial crisis. Do you think the new measures announced are a step in the right direction? Please share your view in the comments.

Strong customer authentication and secure communication in payment services

Following the entry into force of the revised Directive 2015/2366 on Payment Services (PSD2), the European Banking Authority (EBA) is mandated to deliver several Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) and Guidelines by January 2017. These should set out the details of the more general standards laid down in the Directive in order to secure their consistent application throughout the EU. EBA's RTS are therefore important for the smooth functioning of the single market for payment services.

As the first step, and before developing the full RTS, EBA has recently published a Discussion Paper on strong customer authentication and secure communication. The Discussion Paper specifies the requirements of strong customer authentication; the  exemptions to the application of these requirements; requirements to protect the payment service users' personalized security credentials; requirements for common and secure open standards of communication; and security measures between the various types of payment service providers.

BEUC has submitted a number of useful comments on the Discussion Paper. For example, BEUC has recommended the RTS should also consider that a good level of consumer protection in payment services is provided through an adequate combination of preventive and curative measures. Providing for a simple and unconditional refund policy in case of  unauthorized, fraudulent or disputed payment transactions is crucial for raising consumers' confidence in using payment services. It is also important that consumers' data are secure and that in case of data breaches effective redress mechanisms are in place. Finally, the requirements of strong customer authentication and the RTS should extend to mail orders and telephone orders. See for more recommendations and the full text of BEUC's response here.