Now also available as
eBook
The role that payments play within the general framework of
financial services in the EC is indispensable for the realization of a true
single European market including, inter alia, the conditions of cross-border
purchasing, the legal framework of consumer protection, and the technical
standards against fraud in payment systems. The Commission’s New Legal
Framework for payment services in the internal market – as evidenced by the EC
Payment Services Directive (PSD) – represents an important step towards the
completion of an initiative for a Single Euro Payments Area and, more broadly,
EU-wide financial services integration. Yet, while wholesale financial
services and, in particular, wholesale payment services have been extensively
regulated, much work remains to be done in the sector of retail financial
services, an area directly affecting consumers and small enterprises. Using a
dual focus on the historical development of EC financial services law and
current trends in this highly evolving sector, this important book masterfully
reveals and delimits the legal aspects of payments within the European Union
and analyses the different legislative approaches to harmonization in
financial services. The author shows that, despite the inherent sensitivity of
the financial services sector and the rapid technological developments, a
centralized EC initiative for payment services has the potential to bring
about tangible results in terms of consumer protection and further EC
integration. In the course of her in-depth treatment, the author explores the
following such elements as they relate to payment services:
• the case law of the ECJ on the meaning of payments and capital;
• theories of minimum versus maximum harmonization in financial services;
• the application of mutual recognition and home country control;
• the comitology procedure;
• the principle of subsidiarity in the context of financial services
legislation;
• authorization requirements for payment institutions;
• supervision of the payment institutions;
• liability for losses from unauthorized transactions;
• liability for non-execution or defective execution of a payment transaction;
• revocability and irrevocability of a payment order;
• varying levels of consumer protection in payment services; and
• transparency and liability issues under the PSD.
As the EU continues to experience increasing pressure and incentives to
evaluate the existing legal framework affecting payments across its Member
States, this book’s clear analysis of the complex legal framework, as well as
its informed perspectives on future prospects, will greatly facilitate the
advancement of legal scholarship in the area. The book is well worth the
attention of banking professionals, business people and other interested
parties.