The European Retail Payments Strategy – an update

In today's article, we go into the development of the European payments strategy in a short interview. What is already in motion, what is new and what is on the horizon? We invited our colleague Swaantje – an expert in this field – to talk to us.

EBICS blog:
Hello Swaantje! Thank you for taking the time to be here. Would you like to tell us something about yourself first?

Swaantje:
Hi! Yes, it's my pleasure. I am Swaantje Völkel, Managing Consultant in the Consulting Payments division of PPI AG in Hamburg and I focus on adjustments that are initiated at European level. This includes the EU Digital Finance Strategy and, more specifically, the EU Retail Payments Strategy.

EBICS blog:
What is the biggest challenge here?

Swaantje:
Well, first things first – a strategy is not a law, but only a kind of declaration of intent, a framework plan for the future, for future events. There are no compulsory guidelines or deadlines, it is a process of growth, where observation, interpretation, experience and judgement are required.

EBICS blog:
So the desire for autonomy is strong, but the willingness to make it mandatory less so?

Swaantje:
The EU Retail Payments Strategy is part of the EU Digital Finance Strategy. Both are driven by, among other things, the EU's Open Strategic Autonomy, and are intended to support it. Yes, that's right – the focus is clearly on promoting the EU's Open Strategic Autonomy. The EU Retail Payments Strategy describes 17 measures of varying scale and impact. One main topic is the review of PSD2 – this is where we start at PPI.

EBICS blog:
Does this mean that things are becoming more concrete here and that changes can be expected?

Swaantje:
Indeed. The subject is slowly becoming more tangible: two current consultations are asking for feedback on the objectives of PSD2, including the question on how successful PSD2 has been in achieving its goals. Feedback should also include opinions on the enforcement of PSD2 by national regulatory authorities and any proposed changes that respondents believe should be made to the directive. There is also the question of whether the application scope, measures and procedures of PSD2 are appropriate, taking a forward-looking approach. Responses to these consultations are due to be submitted in the summer.

EBICS blog:
As the effort estimate is what's decisive – can any kind of prediction be made?

Swaantje:
PSD2 has brought massive changes with the introduction of account access by third-party providers and new requirements for strong customer authentication. After the review and amendment of PSD2, we expect changes, but not quite such serious ones. There can still be big and important changes – just not as big as the initial introduction of PSD2. The bottom line is that we have a lot of work to do – because small changes can have a huge impact and vice versa, so I am reluctant to make predictions.
 
EBICS blog:
Is it helpful to take such a vague approach?

Swaantje:
It grants us a valuable creative phase that has always provided useful insights so far. I refer to the difficult wayfinding last time. Secretly, however, we hope that the road to PSD3 won’t be quite as long as it was back then. In particular, delays are encouraged by the continuous lobbying, which on the one hand ensures progress on the strategy, but on the other hand unfortunately also means pointing out many competing wishes, evaluating them and trying to reconcile them. This is not an accelerating aspect.

EBICS blog:
In that case, be honest – when will the drafting of a PSD3 be achieved?

Swaantje:
2023! (laughs)