A new regime for access to payment accounts: the PSD2

Abstract

The finance industry is currently facing a further competitive challenge, on top of ongoing digitalisation: a new type of payment service provider that acts either as an account information service provider or as a payment transaction initiator. these emerging entities, authorised under the second payment services directive of the european parliament and of the council, are now able to establish direct relationships with the customers of credit institutions, conducting transactions in their own name, without having to manage themselves a payment account, and accessing information of undoubted commercial value. this new scenario anticipates a change in the banking status quo and in banks’ current business models, promising the development of new value propositions that will be to the benefit of bank customers and society as a whole. this article sets out the main changes introduced by the european directive, highlights aspects still to be resolved and considers its possible impact on the different types of service providers.