EU Parliament Postpones Final Vote on Payments Package until After July Elections (April 3, 2014)
European Parliament today voted in a plenary session to accept the text of the revised payment industry regulations (PSD2 and MIF) that the ECON committee voted on last month. However, payments industry participants were relieved that the Parliament voted to postpone the “vote on the legislative resolution” on both the PSD2 and the MIF Regulation until Parliament convenes again after elections in July. A new European Parliament now must start discussions again with the European Council after summer elections and at some point hold a plenary vote on the final legislative resolution.
The postponement means the text of PSD2 and the MIF Regulation are not Parliament’s final position on the new regulations and there is still room for payments industry participants unhappy with the existing text to discuss some possible changes with Parliament members, according to Monica Monaco, founder and managing director of Brussels-based TrustEU Affairs. European payments industry participants are concerned about the market effects of key aspects of PSD2, including interchange rates set too low that extend beyond consumer cards to also include commercial cards, Monaco tells Paybefore. The regulation’s text currently would cap interchange at 0.3 percent per transaction for credit cards and 0.2 percent per transaction for debit cards with a 7-cent maximum above 35 euros.
An overall lack of clarity in many PSD2 provisions also is a big concern for the payments industry, Monaco says. But the postponement of the final vote provides a little breathing room. “There is still a lot of space for modifications and a mix of new people will be coming into Parliament after the elections,” she notes.
