Legal provisions of COM(2018)163 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 924/2009 as regards certain charges on cross-border payments in the Union and currency conversion charges

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dossier COM(2018)163 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 924/2009 as regards certain charges on cross-border payments in the Union and currency ...
document COM(2018)163 EN
date March 19, 2019

Contents

Article 1 - Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 924/2009

Regulation (EC) No 924/2009 is amended as follows:

(1)Article 1 is amended as follows:

(a)paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.   This Regulation lays down rules on cross-border payments and on the transparency of currency conversion charges within the Union.’,

(b)in paragraph 2, the following subparagraph is added:

‘Notwithstanding the first subparagraph of this paragraph, Articles 3a and 3b shall apply to national and cross-border payments that are denominated either in euro or in a national currency of a Member State other than the euro and that involve a currency conversion service.’;

(2)in Article 2, point (9) is replaced by the following:

‘(9)“charge” means any amount levied on a payment service user by a payment service provider that is directly or indirectly linked to a payment transaction, any amount levied on a payment service user by a payment service provider or a party providing currency conversion services in accordance with Article 59(2) of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*1) for a currency conversion service, or a combination thereof;

(*1)  Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35).’;"

(3)Article 3 is amended as follows:

(a)paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.   Charges levied by a payment service provider on a payment service user in respect of cross-border payments in euro shall be the same as the charges levied by that payment service provider for corresponding national payments of the same value in the national currency of the Member State in which the payment service provider of the payment service user is located.’,

(b)the following paragraph is inserted:

‘1a.   Charges levied by a payment service provider on a payment service user in respect of cross-border payments in the national currency of a Member State that has notified its decision to extend the application of this Regulation to its national currency in accordance with Article 14 shall be the same as the charges levied by that payment service provider on payment service users for corresponding national payments of the same value and in the same currency.’,

(c)paragraph 3 is deleted,

(d)paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

‘4.   Paragraphs 1 and 1a shall not apply to currency conversion charges.’;

(4)the following article is inserted:

‘Article 3a

Currency conversion charges related to card-based transactions

1. With regard to the information requirements on currency conversion charges and the applicable exchange rate, as set out in Articles 45(1), 52(3) and 59(2) of Directive (EU) 2015/2366, payment service providers, and parties providing currency conversion services at an automated teller machine (ATM) or at the point of sale, as referred to in Article 59(2) of that Directive, shall express the total currency conversion charges as a percentage mark-up over the latest available euro foreign exchange reference rates issued by the European Central Bank (ECB). That mark-up shall be disclosed to the payer prior to the initiation of the payment transaction.

2. Payment service providers shall also make the mark-ups referred to in paragraph 1 public in a comprehensible and easily accessible manner on a broadly available and easily accessible electronic platform.

3. In addition to the information referred to in paragraph 1, a party providing a currency conversion service at an ATM or at the point of sale shall provide the payer with the following information prior to the initiation of the payment transaction:

(a)the amount to be paid to the payee in the currency used by the payee;

(b)the amount to be paid by the payer in the currency of the payer's account.

4. A party providing currency conversion services at an ATM or at the point of sale shall clearly display the information referred to in paragraph 1 at the ATM or at the point of sale. Prior to the initiation of the payment transaction, that party shall also inform the payer of the possibility of paying in the currency used by the payee and having the currency conversion subsequently performed by the payer's payment service provider. The information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 shall also be made available to the payer on a durable medium following the initiation of the payment transaction.

5. The payer's payment service provider shall, for each payment card that was issued to the payer by the payer's payment service provider and that is linked to the same account, send to the payer an electronic message with the information referred to in paragraph 1, without undue delay after the payer's payment service provider receives a payment order for a cash withdrawal at an ATM or a payment at the point of sale that is denominated in any Union currency that is different from the currency of the payer's account.

Notwithstanding the first subparagraph, such a message shall be sent once every month in which the payer's payment service provider receives from the payer a payment order denominated in the same currency.

6. The payment service provider shall agree with the payment service user on the broadly available and easily accessible electronic communication channel or channels through which the payment service provider will send the message referred to in paragraph 5.

The payment service provider shall offer payment service users the possibility of opting out of receiving the electronic messages referred to in paragraph 5.

The payment service provider and the payment service user may agree that paragraph 5 and this paragraph do not apply in whole or in part where the payment service user is not a consumer.

7. The information referred to in this Article shall be provided free of charge and in a neutral and comprehensible manner.’;

(5)the following article is inserted:

‘Article 3b

Currency conversion charges related to credit transfers

1. When a currency conversion service is offered by the payer's payment service provider in relation to a credit transfer, as defined in point (24) of Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2015/2366, that is initiated online directly, using the website or the mobile banking application of the payment service provider, the payment service provider, with regard to Articles 45(1) and 52(3) of that Directive, shall inform the payer prior to the initiation of the payment transaction, in a clear, neutral and comprehensible manner, of the estimated charges for currency conversion services applicable to the credit transfer.

2. Prior to the initiation of a payment transaction, the payment service provider shall communicate to the payer, in a clear, neutral and comprehensible manner, the estimated total amount of the credit transfer in the currency of the payer's account, including any transaction fee and any currency conversion charges. The payment service provider shall also communicate the estimated amount to be transferred to the payee in the currency used by the payee.’;

(6)Article 15 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 15

Review

1. By 19 April 2022, the Commission shall present to the European Parliament, the Council, the ECB and the European Economic and Social Committee a report on the application and impact of this Regulation, which shall contain, in particular:

(a)an evaluation of the way payment service providers apply Article 3 of this Regulation, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2019/518 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*2);

(b)an evaluation of the development of volumes and charges for national and cross-border payments in national currencies of Member States and in euro since the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2019/518;

(c)an evaluation of the impact of Article 3 of this Regulation, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2019/518, on the development of currency conversion charges and other charges related to payment services, both to payers and payees;

(d)an evaluation of the estimated impact of amending Article 3(1) of this Regulation to cover all currencies of Member States;

(e)an evaluation of how providers of currency conversion services apply the information requirements laid down in Articles 3a and 3b of this Regulation and the national legislation implementing Articles 45(1), 52(3) and 59(2) of Directive (EU) 2015/2366, and whether those rules have enhanced the transparency of currency conversion charges;

(f)an evaluation of whether and to what extent providers of currency conversion services have faced difficulties with the practical application of Articles 3a and 3b of this Regulation and the national legislation implementing Articles 45(1), 52(3) and 59(2) of Directive (EU) 2015/2366;

(g)a cost-benefit analysis of communication channels and technologies that are used by, or are available to, providers of currency conversion services and that can further improve the transparency of currency conversion charges, including an evaluation of whether there are certain channels which payment service providers should be required to offer for the sending of the information referred to in Article 3a; that analysis shall also include an assessment of the technical feasibility of disclosing the information in Article 3a(1) and (3) of this Regulation simultaneously, prior to the initiation of each transaction, for all currency conversion options available at an ATM or at the point of sale;

(h)a cost-benefit analysis of introducing the possibility for payers to block the option of currency conversion offered by a party other than the payer's payment service provider at an ATM or at the point of sale and to change their preferences in this regard;

(i)a cost-benefit analysis of introducing a requirement for the payer's payment service provider, to apply, when providing currency conversion services in relation to an individual payment transaction, the currency conversion rate applicable at the moment of initiation of the transaction when clearing and settling the transaction.

2. The report referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall cover at least the period from 15 December 2019 until 19 October 2021. It shall take account of the specificities of various payment transactions, distinguishing in particular between transactions initiated at an ATM and at the point of sale.

When preparing its report, the Commission may use data collected by Member States in relation to paragraph 1.

(*2)  Regulation (EU) 2019/518 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 amending Regulation (EC) No 924/2009 as regards certain charges on cross-border payments in the Union and currency conversion charges (OJ L 91, 29.3.2019, p. 36).’."

Article 2

1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2. It shall apply from 15 December 2019, except for the following:

(a)point (6) of Article 1 shall apply from 18 April 2019;

(b)points (4) and (5) of Article 1, as regards Article 3a(1) to (4) and Article 3b of Regulation (EC) No 924/2009, shall apply from 19 April 2020;

(c)point (4) of Article 1, as regards Article 3a(5) and (6) of Regulation (EC) No 924/2009, shall apply from 19 April 2021;

(d)point (4) of Article 1, as regards Article 3a(7) of Regulation (EC) No 924/2009 insofar as it relates to Article 3a(1) to (4) of that Regulation, shall apply from 19 April 2020;

(e)point (4) of Article 1, as regards Article 3a(7) of Regulation (EC) No 924/2009 insofar as it relates to Article 3a(5) and (6) of that Regulation, shall apply from 19 April 2021.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.