On 19 February, the European Revised Payment Services Directive, known as PSD2, entered into force in the Netherlands.

Under PSD2, service providers are allowed to access payment data or initiate payments from an account holder’s payment account, provided the account holder has given his or her explicit consent. The aim of the regulation is to promote innovation and competition in the European payments markets. But what does it mean for the involved parties and what are the major challenges industry players will be facing in Europe? What are their strategic options in a post-PSD2 age?

We seized the opportunity to invite Petra Hielkema, Division Director Payments and Market Infrastructure at De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and one of our key speakers this year, to share her views on this topic.

“DNB welcomes PSD2 as it opens up new and innovative payment services in Europe and the Netherlands.

As the European payment landscape and culture still has strong varieties, it may initially be challenging to find propositions on a European scale. The challenge will be to find the right niche applications in specific markets. Dutch consumers for instance have shown to be open to innovation and new technology, but they are also not used to paying for payment services and cautious for privacy risks. With regard to the latter, the protection of the GDPR is a major requirement.

On the technological side, the challenge will be to reach further standardization of APIs across Europe, something DNB considers to be critical for lowering integration costs for PSPs and technology and thereby the success of PSD2 in Europe. We look forward to discussing this and other topics at the upcoming European Payment Summit in The Hague.”

At EPS 2019, Petra Hielkema will be joining The Brave New Payments World – A Regulatory Challenge panel debate on Day 1.

Register today and join the EPS sessions for unique insights and latest developments from payment industry experts and thought leaders who will be sharing their knowledge and payment experiences through various insightful presentations and networking discussions, re-thinking transactions.