European Banking Authority Publishes Final Draft Technical Standards on Central Contact Points Under the Revised Payment Services Directive

The European Banking Authority has published its final draft Regulatory Technical Standards on central contact points under the revised Payment Service Directive. The RTS will apply where a payment institution or electronic money institution with its head office in one member state provides payment services on a cross-border basis, under the right of establishment, through agents in another (host) member state. PSD2 gives the national regulators in the host member state the option of requiring that payment institutions or electronic money institutions operating through agents must establish a central contact point in the host territory, to ensure adequate communication and information reporting and effective supervision.

The final draft RTS specify the criteria to be applied when determining, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, the circumstances when the appointment of a central contact point is appropriate, and the functions of those contact points.

The final draft RTS will now be submitted to the European Commission for endorsement, following which there will be a three month scrutiny period for the European Parliament and the Council. Assuming no changes are made to the RTS, they will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and come into force 20 days later.