The European Council announced a provisional political agreement with the European Parliament to strengthen the EU framework for payment services by creating a new payment services regulation and amending the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), with a focus on reducing payment fraud, improving consumer protection, and increasing fee transparency. The package sets out a more comprehensive anti-fraud framework, including requirements for payment service providers (PSPs) to share fraud-related information and to check payment account IBANs against the corresponding account name before transfers. PSPs would be liable if they fail to meet obligations to use specified preventive tools. It also introduces advertising restrictions under which major online platforms and search engines may advertise financial services to consumers in a member state only where the provider is regulated and authorised in that member state. On transparency, ATM providers would have to display all fees and exchange rates before a transaction, and firms providing card payment facilities to merchants would have to clarify their fees. Measures to improve access to cash include allowing retailers to provide cash withdrawals without a purchase, subject to chip-and-PIN authentication and a maximum withdrawal limit of EUR 150 or the equivalent in national currency, while merchants would need to ensure their trading name matches what appears on customers’ bank statements. The Council and the European Parliament will continue work on technical elements of the package ahead of final adoption by the co-legislators.
European Council 2025-11-27
European Council and European Parliament reach provisional deal to overhaul EU payment services rules with stronger anti-fraud and transparency requirements
The European Council and European Parliament reached a provisional agreement to enhance the EU payment services framework by introducing a new regulation and amending the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2). Key measures include a comprehensive anti-fraud framework, advertising restrictions for financial services, and increased fee transparency for ATMs and card payment facilities. The agreement also facilitates cash access through retailer withdrawals, with ongoing technical discussions before adoption.