On 28 March 2018, the European Commission published a proposed Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No. 924/2009 as regards certain charges on cross-border payments in the Union and currency conversion charges.

In particular, the draft Regulation provides that fees charged for cross-border payments in euro are the same that would be charged for equivalent domestic payments in the local currency. For example, a cross-border credit transfer in euro from Bulgaria will be priced the same as a domestic Bulgarian credit transfer. The draft Regulation also increases transparency on payments that involve different Union currencies. The draft Regulation requires that consumers are fully informed of the cost of a currency conversion before they make such payment. This means that consumers will be better informed of the cost of currency conversion before they make such payment.

The Commission has also published a press release which contains links to a memo and factsheet.

Valdis Dombrovskis (Commission Vice-President in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union) stated: “With today’s proposal we are granting citizens and businesses in non-euro area countries the same conditions as euro area residents when making cross-border payments in euro. All Europeans will be able to transfer money cross-border, in euro, at the same cost as they would pay for a domestic transaction. Today’s proposal will also require full transparency in currency conversion when consumers are paying by card in a country which does not have the same currency as their own.”

The Commission is inviting comments on its legislative proposal, the deadline for comments is 29 May 2018.