Payment Systems and Non-Banks Access to Payment Systems

The processing of electronic payments (Payments) requires a technical infrastructure that enables funds to be transferred to the payment account of the beneficiary. Banks traditionally play a key role in this regard as they developed the first infrastructures for the clearing and settlement of Payments, whereby Payments were initially settled using correspondent banking arrangements. Nowadays, payment systems are responsible for the clearing and settlement of the vast majority of the Payments that are initiated in Europe, which makes these systems a crucial component of the Payment infrastructure. Since payment systems fulfil such a pivotal role in the processing of Payments, the European legislature considers it important for Non-Banks to be able to access the technical infrastructures of payment systems to ensure sound competition between banks and Non-Banks. To this end, PSD introduced a legal obligation for payment system operators to allow Non-Banks (in)direct access to their systems. This chapter covers the functioning of payment systems and the supervision (called ‘oversight’) exercised on payment systems that are established in the European Union. Furthermore, this chapter sets out the legal requirements for payment system access, whereby a distinction is made between direct access and indirect access, and the initiatives that have been launched to stimulate non-bank payment system access.