PSD2 regulators must have complaints system that supports 'aggregate analysis' of alleged infringements

The EBA set out proposed requirements regarding 'aggregate analysis' of complaints made about alleged infringements of  in the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) by payment service providers (PSPs) subject to the new rules in draft guidelines (23-page / 197KB PDF) it is consulting on.

The EBA is obliged to produce guidelines for how regulators should deal with complaints under PSD2 under the legislation, which was finalised in late 2015 and which must be implemented into national laws across the EU by 13 January 2018.

According to the EBA proposals, regulators' complaints procedure should allow them to see the total number of complaints they have received during "a given timeframe" and break down that information to reveal "the nature of the most common types of complainants; the identity of the payment service providers that are most often complained about; [and] the identification of the issues most complained about".

The complaints procedure must also be capable of revealing which parts of PSD2 the regulator has "found to be most often infringed" as well as what "the most common measures" they have taken to "ensure effective compliance", according to the draft guidelines.

The regulators would be obliged to take the aggregate analysis into account "to ensure and monitor effective compliance of payment service providers" with PSD2, the EBA said.

According to the draft guidelines, consumers and businesses that use payment services should be able to make complaints of alleged infringement of PSD2 to regulators via at least two "easily accessible" channels.

Regulators should seek and record certain information from those that make complaints, including details of the alleged infringer and "a description of the situation that gave rise to the complaint of an alleged infringement", according to the plans.

The EBA said that those making complaints should be provided with a means to "submit any documentary evidence in support of the complaint, such as a copy of their contract with the payment service provider; any correspondence exchanged with the payment service provider(s) or with any other entity; and information related to their payment account if relevant".

The EBA's consultation is open until 16 May. The final guidelines will be published after that date, and would apply from 13 January 2018.