The PSD2 and its successors should include better privacy safeguards. A 'window of opportunity' provides the evaluation included in Article 108 PSD2. With the arrival of a new European Commission chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, the evaluation will look different.
The ink from PSD2 wasn't dry yet or the lobby for PSD3 started. A driving force comes from the United Kingdom, where 'Open Banking' has been running for quite some time. From this corner comes the sigh that the PSD2 doesn't go far enough. Anyone who makes this complaint will be pleased with the new plans of the European Commission, which wants to push the digitisation accelerator hard.
PSD2 becomes 'Data Space Open Finance
In December 2019, a new European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, took office. It succeeds the Juncker Commission. The new Commission came up with various vision papers, such as about the digital future of Europe and one work programme for the Commission. In its 'state of the Union 2020' in September 2020, Von der Leyen indicated fully committed to digitization. For this she wants a number of data spaces establish. Financial Services is one of them.
The vision for the financial sector was elaborated on 24 September 2020 in the Digitital Finance Package. This package of plans addresses Digital Finance, Retail Payments Strategies, legislation for crypto-assets and digital resilience. In all these plans, the Commission intends to promote data-driven innovation, with better access to data and data sharing within the financial sector.
Evaluation in 2021, oh no, from 2022 onwards
What about the evaluation of the PSD2? The Commission wants to develop an 'open funding framework' and have it ready around 2024. It indicates mid 2022 with to come forward with proposals for legislation. (Or read here the relevant paragraph) The evaluation will don't stand on their own. In the Q&A accompanying the presentation of the Digital Financial Package, the Commission refers to Q4 2021 as the start of the evaluation.
Now what?
Various initiatives by the European Commission are considerably stepping up the pace of digitisation. For the time being, however, the PSD2 remains the legal framework for financial services. The evaluation of the PSD2 will be part of a larger package of developments. The 'window of opportunity' is being moved and will take a longer time. Unfortunately, this is to the detriment of Privacy First. That is why it remains important to embed privacy in the PSD2. It is time for a position paper.