|
|
The Commission has identified three main strands of further work to move a step closer to a genuine Single Market for financial services:
Increase consumer trust and empower consumers when buying services at home or from other Member States. Among other things, we want to make it easier for drivers to take their no-claims bonus ('bonus-malus') abroad. We also want to reduce fees for cross-border transactions involving non-Euro currencies and we will be taking steps towards more transparent pricing of car rental insurance.
Reduce legal and regulatory obstacles affecting businesses when seeking to expand abroad. This will include working on common creditworthiness assessment criteria and facilitating the exchange of data between credit registers.
Support the development of an innovative digital world which can overcome some of the existing barriers to the Single Market. We will work with the private sector to explore how they could use electronic identification and trust services for checking the identity of customers. We will also monitor the practices of digital providers to decide if rules for selling financial services remotely - such an online or by phone - should be updated.
The Commission has already tackled many of the regulatory obstacles to the Single Market in consumer financial services through EU legislation. Today's Action Plan sets out a roadmap for further work. Many of the actions will need to involve stakeholders such as national supervisory authorities, service providers and consumer organisations.
FinTech: the new frontier in financial services
The speedy development of FinTech brings new opportunities for both consumers and companies. It has the potential to improve consumers' access to financial services across the Single Market, open up national barriers and improve efficiency.
In order to help the European FinTech sector operate freely across the EU and be competitive, the Commission intends to focus on three core principles: technology-neutrality, so that the same rules are applied to traditionally-sold products and services (e.g. via branches) as those sold digitally; this is to ensure innovation and a level-playing field. Second, proportionality so that the rules are suitable for different business models, size and activities of the regulated entities. Third, improved integrity to ensure transparency, privacy and security for consumers.
As a first step, the Commission invites all interested parties to respond to the FinTech consultation, which is being launched alongside the #FinTechEU conference taking place in Brussels today. The consultation aims to gather first-hand information on the impact of new technology on the entire financial sector. It will help to assess whether EU regulatory and supervisory rules are adequate and what future actions may be needed. [...]
Vice-President Dombrovskis on the Action Plan on Consumer Financial Services
EBF supports EU Consumer Financial Services Plan