Directive on Payment Services (PSD)

The Directive on Payment Services (PSD) provides the legal foundation for the creation of an EU-wide single market for payments. The PSD aims at establishing a modern and comprehensive set of rules applicable to all payment services in the European Union. The target is to make cross-border payments as easy, efficient and secure as 'national' payments within a Member State. The PSD also seeks to improve competition by opening up payment markets to new entrants, thus fostering greater efficiency and cost-reduction. At the same time the Directive provides the necessary legal platform for the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).

After the formal adoption by the Council and the European Parliament and the publication, the provisions of this Directive will need to be implemented by all Member States by 1 November 2009.

• Call for tender MARKT/2011/120/H
  Study on the impact of Directive 2007/64/EC on payment services in the internal market and on the application of Regulation (EC) No 924/2009 on cross-border payments in the Community
• Transposition of PSD
  • Submit your questions
  • Member States’ options
  • Useful links
• Directive on Payment Services – Final text
  • Background documents / Archives

Payments legislative package - 24.07.2013

On 24 July 2013, the Commission adopted a legislative package in the field of the EU payments framework. This package which proposes a revised Payments Services Directive (PSD2) and a Regulation on Multilateral Interchange Fees (MIFs) will help the payments framework to better serve the needs of an effective European payments market, fully contributing to a payments environment which nurtures competition, innovation and security to the benefits of all stakeholders and consumers in particular. Modernisation of the legislative framework for retail payments was also defined as one of the key actions of the Commission Single Market Act II and is inter alia a response to the Commission’s Green Paper “Towards an integrated European market for card, internet and mobile payments” of 2012. It provides for the following documents:

• Press conference
• Press release
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Speech by Commissioner Barnier
• Commission Proposal for a revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2)
• Commission Proposal for a Regulation on Multilateral Interchange Fees (MIFs)
• Commission Report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of the PSD and on Regulation 924/2009
• Impact Assessment:
  • Executive Summary
  • Full text
• Citizen’s summary(38 KB)  
• Study on the impact of the PSD and on the application of Regulation 924/2009(5 MB)  
• Annex to the Study(5 MB)  
  The views expressed in this study on the impact of Directive 2007/64/EC on payment services in the internal market and on the application of Regulation (EC) no 924/2009 on cross-border payments in the community are those of the authors alone. Publication of this study on the Commission’s web-site does not mean that the Commission endorses the views expressed and the assessments carried out. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in the study, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof. Reproduction is authorised provided the source – London Economics and iff in association with PaySys – is acknowledged.