60 financial services companies have signed manifesto lobbying for changes to PSD2

Today, PPRO Group announced that the company is one of the 60 companies and associations operating on EU or global level in the financial and payments industry that have signed a manifesto to lobby the EU in regards to making changes to the current draft of the RTS of the PSD2.  With the negotiations around the RTS proposed by the EBA reaching a crucial stage, the coalition of 60 companies strongly believes the proposed standards, specifically those in relation to the communication between fintechs and banks on behalf of the consumer, will have a negative impact as opposed to what PSD2 originally intended.

Below is the full text of the coalition manifesto: 

"We, a coalition of 60 companies and associations operating across all EU Member States and at a global level in the financial services industry, have signed a manifesto seeking the European Commission to make changes to the current draft of the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) under the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2). If the RTS which are currently proposed by the European Banking Authority (EBA) are adopted, they will have the potential to negatively impact our companies’ business models, reversing what has been achieved by Fintech companies over the last years in Europe.

We are now drawing closer to the final, crucial stages in negotiations around the RTS. The coalition of 60 companies strongly believes the proposed standards, specifically those in relation to the communication between fintechs and banks on behalf of the consumer, will have a negative impact as opposed to what PSD2 originally intended. The proposed standards will have an adverse impact on competition, jeopardise consumer control over personal financial data, as well as have a critical negative impact on the future trajectory of innovation in Europe. The proposed standards are not only inconsistent with PSD2, but they will also force fintechs to become technologically dependent on banks, positioning the banks as gatekeepers of the fintech sector.

The manifesto outlines our mutual concerns and suggestions as to how the standards should be amended in favour of competition, innovation and consumer choice.

We, the signatories of the manifesto, believe that the EBA’s RTS not only do not reflect the principles laid down in PSD2, but are distorting them by banning such a secure proven technology as Direct Access via the bank’s existing – and well maintained – customer-facing online banking interface. We therefore, urge policy makers to align the RTS with the PSD2 text, so that it no longer forecloses specific technologies, such as Direct Access, and preserves technology neutrality and consumer choice in the payment space.

We engage in this industry-wide and important effort to safeguard the future of the European fintech industry. We do it for the benefit of all European consumers, for continued growth and innovation in e-commerce and for continued European leadership in Fintech."

About PPRO Group

PPRO Group is cross-border e-payment specialist, PPRO Group, (PPRO) removes the complexity of international e-commerce payments by acquiring, collecting and processing an extensive range of alternative payments methods for PSPs under one contract, through one platform and one single integration. PPRO’s platform supports international payment methods across more than 190 countries, allowing merchants to expand their e-commerce reach, arrange hassle-free collection and achieve higher conversion rates.

PPRO also issues Visa and MasterCard consumer prepaid cards, under its own brand name VIABUY,  and enables B2B prepaid cards, under its CROSSCARD brand, which can be issued both physically (as vouchers) and as virtual cards or NFC devices (as stickers).

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in London, PPRO is an EU-certified financial institute with an e-money license issued by the British regulatory body FCA. For more information, please visit www.ppro.com.