The Payment Accounts Directive (PAD) entered into force on 17 September 2014. It considers vital for consumers to be able to understand fees so that they may be able to compare offers from different payment service providers (PSPs) and make informed decisions as to which payment account is most suitable for their needs. The PAD seeks to standardise the most relevant terminology at Member State level and at the EU level. It then provides for the creation of templates for the presentation of certain fee information, which will be used by PSPs.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has now published a consultation paper containing draft technical standards that seek to standardise eight terms for services that are to be used by PSPs. PSPs will use the standardised terminology in two disclosure documents: the pre-contractual fee information document and the post-contractual statement of fees. To ensure that PSPs provide this information to consumers in a clear, easy-to-understand, and standardised format across the EU, the draft technical standards propose standardised templates and symbols for each of the documents.

The deadline for comments on the consultation is 22 December 2016.

View EBA consults on technical standards on fee terminology and disclosure documents under the Payment Accounts Directive, 22 September 2016