EC launched infringement procedure against Romania on payment services

The European Commission has launched the infringement procedure against Romania and other five European states although it failed to fully implement in the national legislations the payment services directive, which paves the way for the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA). Authorities in Brussels will send reasoned opinion letters to the six countries, requesting the complete implementation of the Directive.

The targeted countries are Cypress, Greece, Spain, Poland, Romanian and Sweden.

„While the majority of Member States have fully implemented the Directive, six Member States – Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Poland, Romania and Sweden – still have to implement some or all of its provisions. In three Member States, additional or secondary legislation is still required in order to implement a number of provisions, mainly related to prudential requirements for payment institutions (Romania), information requirements (Spain), or anti-money laundering requirements (Cyprus). However, in Greece, Sweden and Poland, all the PSD provisions still have to be implemented. The deadline for implementation was November 2009”, the EC communiqué goes.

The deadline for the implementation of the payment services Directive was November 2009.

„The Payment Services Directive 2007/64/EC (IP/05/1514) aims to guarantee fair and open access to payments markets and to increase consumer protection. Before the PSD, payment service providers were effectively blocked from competing and offering their services throughout the EU. The Directive will ensure that all euro or domestic electronic payments are completed in a maximum of one day after the payment order is given, provides the legal foundation for cross-border direct debit schemes and should also lead to lower prices and greater choice for users. The PSD also provides the legal foundation for the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), which is an initiative of the European banking industry to provide an integrated market for payment services within the euro area (IP/07/550)”, the communiqué goes on.

If Romania’s legislation is not going to be modified as to correspond to the European Directive following the reason opinion, the Commission could submit the case to the European Court of Justice.