Central Bank issues directive on payment services in Europe

A directive establishing a modern and comprehensive set of rules applicable to all payment services in Europe. has been issued by the Central Bank.

The directive will transpose parts of the European directive on payment services in the internal market.

This lays down rules concerning transparency of conditions and information requirements for payment services. It also sets out the respective rights and obligations of payment service users and providers in relation to the provision of payment services.

The Central Bank's directive will ensure that cross-border payments willbecome as easy, efficient and secure as national payments within a member state. It will also guarantee users of payment services a high level of protection and efficiency, in particular by introducing a number of obligations in so far as the provision of detailed information by providers of payment services to their customers is concerned. It also introduces a number of new obligations that will ensure better services to the users, the bank said.

The changes brought about by the new directive will be reflected in the terms and conditions of payment accounts and also various payment products, such as cards, credit transfers and direct debits. Revised terms and conditions are being made available to users of payment services by the respective providers.

The directive can be found at:

http://www.centralbankmalta.org/updates/Downloads/pdfs/directive1.pdf