Launch of industry guidance for the Payment Services Regulations
13 Oct 2009
- Less than a month to go until new payments legislation comes into force
- Industry publishes best practice guidance to aid implementation and compliance
The Payments Council is today (13th October) pleased to publish industry guidance for the Payment Services Regulations 2009 (“PSRs”).
The PSRs form the UK legislation for implementing the EU Payment Services Directive in the UK. This new European law has been introduced to enhance competition, transparency and ensure a consistent level of consumer protection for payment services across the EU. For UK customers, it will impact both domestic and cross-border payments, particularly those made into and out of current accounts. The PSRs come fully into force on 1 November 2009 and will be enforced by the Financial Services Authority.
This guidance document – PSRs Industry Best Practice Guidance on Selected Issues – aims to assist payment service providers in their implementation and compliance with the Regulations. Developing guidance has been an iterative process throughout the year involving a wide cross-section of industry practitioners to ensure that activity on compliance could start as early as possible. This final version of the Guidance focuses on specific issues and requirements, where the industry felt that more detailed guidance would be beneficial.
Rosalind Sellers, Payments Council public affairs manager, commented:
“The payments industry has liaised closely with the wider European industry and authorities, both here and in Europe, so that customers can be reassured that all their payment service providers take a consistent and reasonable approach in what the new Payment Services Regulations mean.
“This guidance, for example, provides the industry view on what a ‘payment account’ under the Regulations means, as well as what information a payment service provider should provide a customer about the payments they make, and covers other key issues. Lots of us as personal customers have been receiving revised copies of terms and conditions for our different payment accounts and this is all to ensure they comply with these new requirements. We’ve focussed on a number of specific requirements where we could add value with practical guidance.”
The best practice guidance document is available to download from the Payments Council website, www.paymentscouncil.org.uk and a customer fact sheet will also soon be available to help personal customers with any queries about this new legislation and how it is implemented in the UK.
ENDS
For further information, contact the Payments Council media team on 020 7711 6316 or press@ukpayments.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
Payments within the scope of the PSRs include all automated payments (including credit and debit cards, Direct Debits, standing orders telephone and online banking transactions) as well as cash being paid into an account or withdrawn from a cash machine. Cash transactions between individuals or in a shop or any cheque payment are out of scope.
The Payments Council is the organisation that sets strategy for UK payments. It has been established to ensure that UK payment systems and services meet the need of users, payment service providers and the wider economy.
The Payments Council has three core objectives: to have a strategic vision for payments and lead the future development of co-operative payment services in the UK; to ensure payment systems are open, accountable and transparent; and to ensure the operational efficiency, effectiveness and integrity of payment services in the UK.
The Payments Council is a membership organisation funded by its members, with an independent chairman. It was set up in March 2007 and currently has 27 members; on the Board sit 11 banking representatives and four independent Directors as well as the chairman. The principal UK payment schemes – Bacs, CHAPS and Cheque & Credit Clearing Companies, LINK Scheme as well as the UK Domestic Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme, the Belfast Bankers' Clearing Company Limited and the Currency Clearings – have entered into a contract with the Payments Council which sets out their respective rights and duties towards each other. Under the contract, schemes are required to report regularly to the Payments Council Board: the Board is able to make decisions that are binding on scheme members in order to implement its strategy.
The Payment Services Regulations can be found on HM Treasury website at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/fin_payment_services_directive.htm
The FSA’s Approach Document and other related information can be found at http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/About/What/International/psd/