What will be the new reporting obligations for payment service providers?

On April 9, 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/886, also known as the Instant Payments Regulation, came into force, which introduces significant changes to the SEPA Regulation in the context of instant euro credit transfers.

Under the new regulations, payment service providers are required to make instant payment options available to payment service users across the European Union.

A key element of this regulation is that fees for instant payments cannot exceed those for regular credit transfers. In response to these changes, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority has sent a letter to payment service providers, and the European Banking Authority (EBA) has published relevant information on its website.

What obligations does the regulation impose on payment service providers?

The amendment to the SEPA regulation obliges payment service providers to report detailed information on the level of fees for credit transfers and payment accounts to the competent national authorities.

In addition, reporting should include data on the share of rejected transactions to monitor the efficiency and availability of instant payments.

What is the deadline for submitting the first annual report?

According to the regulation, the first annual report must be submitted by April 9, 2025. The reported data should cover the period from October 26, 2022. These deadlines, while seeming distant, require PSPs to start preparing now to meet the new requirements.

Steps needed to prepare for reporting obligations

The European Banking Authority (EBA), in a published statement, detailed what information payment service providers must record and store as part of the new reporting obligations. According to the draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS), PSPs are required to collect the following data:

• the number and value of credit transfers, including instant credit transfers – this data must be further broken down by type of client (individual, business), the nature of the transfer (domestic or cross-border), the channel for initiating the payment, and the allocation of costs between the ordering party and the recipient. It is also important to record fees for processing such transfers.
• the number of payment accounts and the level of charges for such payment accounts – providers are required to record in detail the number of payment accounts and related fees, which allows monitoring of pricing policies in this regard.
• share of rejected immediate payment transactions – reporting must also include data on the percentage of rejected instant transactions, which is key to assessing the efficiency and availability of this form of payment.

Call for public consultation and reconciliation conference

In order to help payment service providers comply with the new regulations, the EBA is inviting market participants to participate in a public consultation. The consultation provides an excellent opportunity to express opinions and make any comments on the proposed standards. Details of the consultation and a link to participate can be found on the EBA website: EBA – Public Consultation.

In addition, a reconciliation conference to discuss the conclusions of the consultation and agree on the final versions of the technical standards has been scheduled for October 9, 2024.

If you have questions or need support with your new responsibilities, contact us at [email protected]. Also check out our blog, where we regularly publish the latest news and practical advice related to new regulations in the financial industry. Stay up to date!