Dutch central bank starts accepting PSD2 licence applications
Today, the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) enters into force in the Netherlands.
As the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) will enter into force in the Netherlands today, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) is now accepting PSD2 licence applications.
While PSD2 was supposed to be incorporated into the Dutch Civil Code and the Financial Supervision Act by January 13, 2018. However, this process has been delayed. Today marks a key point in the implementation of the new rules.
The central bank explains that it invited interested parties to submit a draft application with a view to speeding up the final application process once the actual date of entry into force would be known. Twenty parties expressed their interest. Six of them submitted a draft licence application, and the other fourteen informed DNB they were planning to do so in the near future. As a result, the application process for some of these parties is already well under way. They aim to provide payment initiation services and account information services, two new types of services enabled by PSD2.
Under PSD2, service providers are allowed to access payment data or initiate payments from an account holder’s payment account, provided the account holder has given their explicit consent. The aim of these new services is to promote innovation and competition in the European payments markets.
In addition to the parties wishing to provide new types of services under PSD2, there is another group of parties who submitted a draft licence application. This concerns UK-based parties that provide existing services (PSD2 has already been implemented in the UK), and want to apply for a Dutch licence in order to be able to continue offering their services in the European Union also after Brexit.
With the introduction of PSD2, new providers of new payment and account information services are set to enter the market. They will act as an online third party between customers and their banks. These third parties may be other banks, for example, or FinTech companies. All providers must have a licence issued by DNB or by another supervisory authority in the European Union. PSD2 regulates the supervision of these third parties.
PSD2 offers new opportunities for old and new service providers, consumers and businesses. Banks and payment institutions, however, will have to face increased competition.
PSD2 offers consumers new methods of payment, while retailers are no longer permitted to charge fees for most types of card transactions (i.e. debit card transactions and most credit card transactions). PSD2 offers alternatives for existing payment methods such as iDEAL and credit card payments.
