progress
Passing legislation is one thing, implementing it is another, it
seems, as the European Commission begins showing signs of concern
that the 1 November 2009 deadline for the implementation of the
Payment Services Directive (PSD) adopted by the European Parliament
in April 2007 could prove a tough one to meet. Indicative of the
concern, the European Commissioner for Internal Market and
Services, Charlie McCreevy, stressed in a statement published in
mid-December: “Now that the PSD has been published, member states
need to deliver on their commitment to implement this crucial
directive by 1 November 2009 at the latest.”
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As the legal foundation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA),
which is due for full implementation by the end of 2010, the PSD
must be written into national law by each of the 27 European Union
member states. The intent of the PSD is to ensure that electronic
payments within the EU – in particular, credit transfer, direct
debit and card payments – become as easy, efficient and secure as
domestic payments.
Removing existing barriers in the payment system could save the
EU’s economy €28 billion ($40.3 billion) annually, believes the EC.
“A coherent legal framework for cross-border payments is an
essential part of making SEPA a reality,” said McCreevy.
Assistance measures
To ensure progress towards implementation of the PSD by member
states, the EC is to establish what it terms a transposition group,
which it will chair and which will be composed of representatives
from member states in charge of drafting the national
implementation rules. The transposition group will be tasked with
comparing approaches and choices made by member states, which have
a degree of flexibility in their implementation of the PSD.
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By GlobalDataThe EC announced that to assist member states it is also going to
establish best-practice workshops and an interactive
question-and-answer website. The objective of the website will be
to answer all questions promptly and within three months at the
latest, unless further consultation of the transposition group is
needed.
