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In the letter, the three European Credit Sector Associations – the European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG), the European Association of Cooperative Banks (EACB) and the European Banking Federation (EBF) argue that for addressing the important issue of fraud, a number of measures should be taken as part of the PSD2 review.
The signatories believe that all relevant actors must come under legal obligations to fight scams – this should not be limited to the banking sector only. Also, the associations believe that a generalised refund right would increase scams, as a more comprehensive reimbursement policy would support the ‘criminal business model’ and therefore make EU citizens more vulnerable to scams.
Moreover, a refund right for authorised transactions would bring significant uncertainty in the payment system and to payment finality by essentially considering all payments non-final – it would conflict with an underlying principle and cornerstone of the legal framework to the detriment of PSPs, consumers and businesses alike. Further, the signatories argue that consumer awareness on fraud is key and together with resilience this need joint efforts, and that targeted measures are needed for prevention and mitigation of fraud.
A second crucial aspect of the PSD2 review is the opportunity to create an ‘open banking’ framework with fair distribution of value and risk that corrects the imbalances resulting from the approach taken in PSD2. A key lesson learnt from the assessment of the PSD2 implementation is that a competitive ecosystem only works when there are benefits for all.
The reviewed legislation should guarantee that both sides of the market can draw benefits from open banking, which is the only way to create a thriving and healthy open banking ecosystem. Therefore, the possibility for banks to charge others for the access to payment accounts should be allowed.
The letter contains some amendments that are needed in the PSD2 review to help banks to fight scams and fraud.