Included in this weeks issue of InContact: Link's Plans 'the first major test for the PSR', European Commission launches blockchain observatory and forum, ECJ Judgements on application of payments legislation to three party payment card schemes and more...

UK

Link's Plans 'the first major test for the PSR' 

The chair of the Treasury Select Committee Nicky Morgan MP, has commented on LINK's ATM plans, saying the Committee will take a very dim view if all those with a role to play – be that LINK, the banks, the ATM deployers, or the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) – fail to work constructively to ensure that the 2.7 million people reliant almost entirely on cash transactions aren’t cut off. Ms Morgan has suggested that the monthly reports which LINK are required to submit to the PSR regarding the impact of the changes should be put in the public domain and said "Any significant reduction in free access to chase would be an unacceptable outcome. This will be the first major test for the PSR".

Commons Select Committee, 31 January 2018

WORLDWIDE

ECJ Judgements on application of payments legislation to three party payment card schemes

The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has handed down two judgments regarding the application of EU payments legislation to three party payment card schemes. The cases related to: 

• The Regulation on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions(IFR). The court considered scenarios where a three part payment card scheme should be considered a fourth party payment card scheme for the purposes of the IFR. The court held that were a three party payment card scheme enters into a co-branding arrangement for an arrangement with an agent, that scheme must be considered to be a four party payment card scheme  (American Express Company v The Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury (Case C-304/16)).
• The Revised Directive on payment services (PSD2). The court considered scenarios where a three party payment scheme could lose the benefit of an exception for the access obligation in Article 35(1) of PSD2 as a consequence of entering into co-branding or agency arrangements. The court held that a three party payment scheme that enters into a co-branding arrangement is not subject to the access obligation provided that the co-branding partner is not a payment services provider and does not provide payment services within that scheme in relation to the co-branded products. However, a three party payment card scheme that makes use of an agent for the purposes of supplying payment services, is subject to the access obligation (American Express Company v The Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury (Case C-643/16)).

ECJ, 7 February 2018

European Commission launches blockchain observatory and forum

The European Commission launched an observatory and forum dedicated to promoting discussion and collaboration on issues arising from blockchain technology. The objective of the Blockchain Observatory and Forum, run by the blockchain software technology company ConsenSys, will be to co-ordinate across geographical borders, consolidate know-how, take advantage of opportunities and demonstrate thought leadership.

European Commission, 1 February 2018

ECB finalises user requirements for future RTGS services

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published the user requirements documents relating to the future realt-time gross settlement (RTGS) services. Publication of the documents follows the ECB's approval of the TARGET2-T2S consolidation project in December 2017. The documents cover:

• Central liquidity management;
• Future real-time gross services;
• Shared services and a glossary.

The ECB states that the consolidated system is expected to be ready in November 2021.

ECB, 2 February 2018