GETTING READY FOR PSD2
The Payment Services Directive 2, known as PSD2, is a European Union directive on payment services parts of which first entered into force last year. With the introduction of this directive, consumers and businesses that have a payment account will have the opportunity to use two new payment services: payment initiation services and account information services. These new payment services apply to accounts that can be viewed online. The primary objective of PSD2 is to encourage innovation, widen consumer choice and to facilitate the creation of new financial products linked to payments services. Very significantly, the directive is also designed to combat fraud in the online payments sector.
The Regulatory Standards on Strong Customer Authentication, or SCA, are designed to protect against fraud and cyber threats. Strong Customer Authentication means that all online transactions of more than €30 must be secured through two-step authentication. In other words: two out of three factors are required to be fulfilled by the buyer when paying: what you own (for example a smartphone or smart watch), what you know (for example the name of your first pet or password) and who you are (for example your fingerprint or face scan). A payment that is authenticated with a thumbprint on your smartphone can therefore be a form of SCA.
This EBF web page presents links to relevant PSD2 websites of EU institutions and by national banking associations that are a member of the EBF.
Related: 14 August 2019: Counting down to the full implementation of PSD2
(This page was last updated on 14 August)
