PSD2

What is the new PSD2 Payment Services Directive?

The use of new technologies that enable modern payment methods has led to a tremendous growth in online and mobile payments in recent years. One of the most important innovations brought by the new legislation is therefore the provision of increased security for online payments.

The Directive on Payment Services in the Internal Market (PSD2), in force since 14 September 2019, calls for greater security and better protection for consumers from fraud, possible abuse and other incidents (notably electronic payments).

The PSD2 Directive establishes technical standards that enable secure authentication of the user in electronic payments and consequently reduce the risk of fraud. Technical standards relate to accessing users' payment accounts online (such as online or mobile banks), making electronic payments, or performing any activity via a remote channel (such as contactless payments).

In accordance with the new technical standards, at least two of the three elements must be met for secure consumer authentication:

• Knowledge category: something the consumer knows (e.g., PIN code, password)
• Ownership category: Something the consumer owns (e.g., cards, devices)
• Inherence category: something that is part of the consumer (e.g., fingerprints, voice recognition)

For an easier comprehension of the novelty of payments the PSD2 Payment Services Directive brings, see a video prepared by the Banking Association of Slovenia.

You can find more information and interface access here.