Amendment to the Act on Payment Services
Ministry of Finance developed draft law, which substantially amends and supplements Act no. 492/2009 Z.z. On Payment Services (hereinafter referred to as the "Amendment"). The aim of this Amendment is to transpose Directive 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market.
The proposed changes complement the harmonized framework for the provision of payment services, for example introducing a legislative adjustment of the provision of payment initiation services and payment account information services.
Payment initiation services can be simply described as services between the merchant and the purchaser's bank, allowing for cheap and efficient electronic payments without the use of a credit card. Payment information services basically consist of providing consolidated information about one or more payment accounts that are accessible online via the Internet and which the user of payment services holds in other or in several payment service providers. These new provisions directly define the rights and obligations of such payment service providers.
The Amendment also specifies strong authentication rules, for example, when a payer accesses his / her payment account online (Internet banking or mobile app) or through a technical device (voice service) or in connection with an electronic payment transaction at a distance, where the part of such authentication should be so- called "dynamic linking". Strong authentication would thus be linked to a specific amount as well as to a specific payee.
With regard to payment system operators the Amendment introduces additional measures and obligations for banks, foreign bank branches, payment institutions, electronic money institutions as well as payment service agents. One of the objectives of the proposed Amendment is to ensure non-discriminatory conditions for payment service providers, for instance by setting of the specific requirements on Rules of Access to the payment systems for the payment service providers.
The Amendment is currently in the legislative process, but its effectiveness is proposed in the wake of the transposition term of the above-mentioned Directive as well as the expected length of the legislative process on 13 January 2018.
For more detailed information and the impact of this Amendment on planned transactions do not hesitate to contact JUDr. Michal Hulena and Mgr. Vladimír Kordoš, LL.M. Partners of the Konečná & Zacha office in Bratislava.