• Bimal Melwani, Account Aggregation Solutions for Financial Institutions & Fintech's at Eurobits Technologies


• 18.05.2017 11:30 am
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In April this year the European Banking Authority released their final RTS draft for PSD2 to be presented to the European Parliament. 

Many European Fintech companies feel that the draft does not stay true to the principle of equal playing field that PSD2 was originally intended to provide. 

To make our voice heard, an association has been formed consisting of 65 European Fintech companies (and growing), and a manifesto presented, to ask the European Parliament to ensure the RTS be technically neutral and in line with agreed objectives and text of the final PSD2 agreement. 

We strongly believe that if some of the proposed standards are adopted, specifically those in relation to how Fintechs communicate with banks on behalf of the consumer, they will have a severe adverse impact. They will have a negative impact on competition in the European payment and financial services market, they will jeopardise consumer control over their own financial data as enshrined in GDPR, and they will hinder the future trajectory of innovation in Europe.

We believe the proposed regulatory standards are inconsistent with PSD2 and will make Fintechs technologically dependent on banks and therefore grant incumbents a gatekeeper role on the fintech sector.

We ask that the European Parliament stands firm on their position on PSD2 and the Regulatory Technical Standards are amended to ensure European consumers have real choice in payment and financial information services, allowing for the continued growth and innovation in e-commerce so that Europe remain the centre of global excellence in Fintech.

This article originally appeared at: Finextra