The Payment Services Directive: Where are the opportunities for new entrants in the European payments industry?

Abstract

This paper explores the business opportunities (as opposed to legal compliance requirements) resulting from the implementation of the Payment Services Directive (PSD) in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area countries as of 1st November, 2009. First, an overview of the most important business implications is given — not always obvious at first reading of the PSD text, and in some cases still under debate by the industry and national/EU legislators as to what the correct interpretation is. An insight is then provided into the types of organisations that are most likely to have an interest in entering the payments industry or, when already present, extending their reach in the value chain, providing some of the payment services covered by the PSD. The paper finally touches upon some of the key outstanding issues to be resolved or clarified, in order to remove any remaining barriers to businesses taking full advantage of the opportunities presented by the PSD.