Majorel hosts BaFin workshop on new Payment Services Directive 2

Gütersloh, 22 July 2019

Last Monday, the third workshop of the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, BaFin) on the introduction of the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) took place at the German Majorel headquarters. A total of around 60 industry representatives came to Gütersloh to discuss the current status of implementation and the opportunities and challenges of the PSD2.

As a registered account information service, Majorel is taking an active part in the industry's discussion on the new EU directive, which comes into force on 14 September. Together with other actors of the industry such as banks, banking associations, FinTechs and other third-party providers, the Majorel subsidiary Kontowechsel24 is developing a standard for the implementation of PSD2. The workshop in Gütersloh was the third event in a series of workshops organized by the BaFin with the aim of promoting exchange on PSD2 and helping the industry’s different actors to implement the new directive.

"We are proud to have hosted the workshop on our premises in Gütersloh," said Kristina Klein, who is responsible for implementing PSD2 at Majorel. “The event was a great success. We had some good talks and conversations which have brought all participants another step further. We are looking forward to a successful launch of PSD2 in September. The event has shown that all players in the industry are working hand in hand to make it possible to implement PSD2 on time with a uniform standard.”

Majorel successfully approved as account information service

Majorel has recently been admitted by the BaFin as an account information service. With consent of the user, account information services are allowed to access account information, read data and debit payments. Previously, this was also possible without a special license. With the introduction of the PSD2 in September, this will be limited exclusively to account information services in the future. "In order to obtain authorization as an account information service, a company must undergo a strict approval process by the BaFin," said Klein. "The BaFin places high demands on account information services, for example regarding reliability, technical standards, accounting or insurance. We are proud to meet these requirements."

The Payment Services Directive 2 is a new EU directive regulating payment services and payment service providers with the aim of making payment transactions online even safer and increasing consumer protection. It regulates access by service providers to their customers' bank accounts, for example when an online transaction is made via a third-party provider. Besides, two-factor authentication will apply to online payments from September. This means that in addition to the user name and password, a transaction number (TAN) is required to initiate a payment. This TAN must be regenerated for each payment.

Read our latest press releases, news articles and features.