Consumers’ association wants ‘bank check’ when sharing payment data under new EU law

The Consumers’ Association believes that people should not simply give permission for the sharing of their payment details under a new EU directive, which the House of Representatives is discussing this week. The organization proposes an additional check via the bank.

According to Bart Combée, director of the Consumers’ Association, this control can take place in the form of a so-called two-stage permission. A payment service first asks a user to give permission for the use of his payment details, after which the bank asks the user whether he wants to confirm the granting of permission. This should prevent people from granting permission ‘too lightly’.

Combée considers it undesirable that this takes place via a kind of ‘cookie button’, which people click away without thinking. Also, people shouldn’t have to read long texts before giving permission, because no one would either. In addition, the Consumers’ Association is concerned about the point that new payment services are gaining insight into consumers’ payment transactions.

The Payment Services Directive, or PSD2, should, among other things, make it possible to enter the market for new providers of such services. The directive was adopted at the end of 2015. According to the EU, the new rules are necessary because ‘innovative providers’ could not be properly captured in the rules of the previous directive. Under the rules, providers are allowed to request payment details from banks and customers must first give permission for this.