Understanding payment services

The provision of payment services is a licenced activity in the EU. Payment services providers are regulated by the European Directive (EU) 2015/2366, better known as PSD2. In Belgium PSD2 is transposed by the Belgian Act of 11 March 2018 on the legal status and supervision of payment institutions and electronic money institutions, access to the business of payment service providers and to the activity of issuing electronic money, and access to payment systems.

In practice, it is not always easy to grasp (i) what type of activity these regulated payment services refer to and (ii) the scope of the related legal framework and licensing requirements. From basic principles such as possession of funds and payment accounts, to classic cash depositing services as well as the recently introduced account information services, this article aims at providing an updated overview and better understanding of the scope of the payment services framework.

You can read the full article that was published in Banking & Finance Law here.