CHAPTER II

COMPARABILITY OF FEES CONNECTED WITH PAYMENT ACCOUNTS

List of the most representative services linked to a payment account and subject to a fee at national level and standardised terminology
Article 3
1
Member States shall establish a provisional list of at least 10 and no more than 20 of the most representative services linked to a payment account and subject to a fee, offered by at least one payment service provider at national level. The list shall contain terms and definitions for each of the services identified. In any official language of a Member State, only one term shall be used for each service.
2
For the purposes of paragraph 1, the Member States shall have regard to the services that:
a
are most commonly used by consumers in relation to their payment account;
b
generate the highest cost for consumers, both overall as well as per unit.
In order to ensure the sound application of the criteria set out in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, EBA shall issue guidelines pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 by 18 March 2015.
3
Member States shall notify to the Commission and to EBA the provisional lists referred to in paragraph 1 by 18 September 2015. On request, Member States shall provide the Commission with supplementary information concerning the data on the basis of which they have compiled those lists with regard to the criteria set out in paragraph 2.
4
On the basis of the provisional lists notified pursuant to paragraph 3, EBA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards setting out the Union standardised terminology for those services that are common to at least a majority of Member States. The Union standardised terminology shall include common terms and definitions for the common services and shall be made available in the official languages of the institutions of the Union. In any official language of a Member State, only one term shall be used for each service.
EBA shall submit those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission by 18 September 2016
Power is delegated to the Commission to adopt the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with the procedure laid down in Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010.
5
Member States shall integrate the Union standardised terminology established under paragraph 4 into the provisional list referred to in paragraph 1 and shall publish the resulting final list of the most representative services linked to a payment account without delay and at the latest within three months after the delegated act referred to in paragraph 4 has entered into force.
6
Every four years, following publication of the final list referred to in paragraph 5, Member States shall assess and, where appropriate, update the list of the most representative services established pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2. They shall notify to the Commission and to EBA the outcome of their assessment and, where applicable, of the updated list of the most representative services. EBA shall review and, where necessary, update the Union standardised terminology, in accordance with the process set out in paragraph 4. Upon the Union standardised terminology being updated, Member States shall update and publish their final list as referred to in paragraph 5 and shall ensure that payment service providers use the updated terms and definitions.

Fee information document and glossary
Article 4
1
Without prejudice to Article 42(3) of Directive 2007/64/EC and Chapter II of Directive 2008/48/EC, Member States shall ensure that, in good time before entering into a contract for a payment account with a consumer, payment service providers provide the consumer with a fee information document on paper or another durable medium containing the standardised terms in the final list of the most representative services linked to a payment account referred to in Article 3(5) of this Directive and, where such services are offered by a payment service provider, the corresponding fees for each service.
2
The fee information document shall:
a
be a short and stand-alone document;
b
be presented and laid out in a way that is clear and easy to read, using characters of a readable size;
c
be no less comprehensible in the event that, having been originally produced in colour, it is printed or photocopied in black and white;
d
be written in the official language of the Member State where the payment account is offered or, if agreed by the consumer and the payment service provider, in another language;
e
be accurate, not misleading and expressed in the currency of the payment account or, if agreed by the consumer and the payment service provider, in another currency of the Union;
f
contain the title ‘fee information document’ at the top of the first page next to a common symbol to distinguish the document from other documentation; and
g
include a statement that it contains fees for the most representative services related to the payment account and that complete pre-contractual and contractual information on all the services is provided in other documents.
Member States may determine that, for the purposes of paragraph 1, the fee information document shall be provided together with information required pursuant to other Union or national legislative acts on payment accounts and related services on the condition that all the requirements of the first subparagraph of this paragraph are met.
3
Where one or more services are offered as part of a package of services linked to a payment account, the fee information document shall disclose the fee for the entire package, the services included in the package and their quantity, and the additional fee for any service that exceeds the quantity covered by the package fee.
4
Member States shall establish an obligation for payment service providers to make available to consumers a glossary of at least the standardised terms set out in the final list referred to in Article 3(5) and the related definitions.
Member States shall ensure that the glossary provided pursuant to the first subparagraph, including other definitions, if any, is drafted in clear, unambiguous and non-technical language and that it is not misleading.
5
The fee information document and the glossary shall be made available to consumers at any time by payment service providers. They shall be provided in an easily accessible manner, including to non-customers, in electronic form on their websites where available and in the premises of payment service providers accessible to consumers. They shall also be provided on paper or another durable medium free of charge upon request by a consumer.
6
EBA, after consulting national authorities and after consumer testing, shall develop draft implementing technical standards regarding a standardised presentation format of the fee information document and its common symbol.
EBA shall submit those draft implementing technical standards to the Commission by 18 September 2016.
Power is conferred on the Commission to adopt the implementing technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010.
7
Following the updating of the Union standardised terminology pursuant to Article 3(6), EBA shall, where necessary, review and update the standardised presentation format of the fee information document and its common symbol, following the procedure set out in paragraph 6 of this Article.

Statement of fees
Article 5
1
Without prejudice to Articles 47 and 48 of Directive 2007/64/EC and Article 12 of Directive 2008/48/EC, Member States shall ensure that payment service providers provide the consumer, at least annually and free of charge, with a statement of all fees incurred, as well as, where applicable, information regarding the interest rates referred to in points (c) and (d) of paragraph 2 of this Article, for services linked to a payment account. Where applicable, payment service providers shall use the standardised terms set out in the final list referred to in Article 3(5) of this Directive.
The communication channel used to provide the statement of fees shall be agreed with the consumer. The statement of fees shall be provided on paper at least upon the request of the consumer.
2
The statement of fees shall specify at least the following information:
a
the unit fee charged for each service and the number of times the service was used during the relevant period, and where the services are combined in a package, the fee charged for the package as a whole, the number of times the package fee was charged during the relevant period and the additional fee charged for any service exceeding the quantity covered by the package fee;
b
the total amount of fees incurred during the relevant period for each service, each package of services provided and services exceeding the quantity covered by the package fee;
c
the overdraft interest rate applied to the payment account and the total amount of interest charged relating to the overdraft during the relevant period, where applicable;
d
the credit interest rate applied to the payment account and the total amount of interest earned during the relevant period, where applicable;
e
the total amount of fees charged for all services provided during the relevant period.
3
The statement of fees shall:
a
be presented and laid out in a way that is clear and easy to read, using characters of a readable size;
b
be accurate, not misleading and expressed in the currency of the payment account or, if agreed by the consumer and the payment service provider, in another currency;
c
contain the title ‘statement of fees’ at the top of the first page of the statement next to a common symbol to distinguish the document from other documentation; and
d
be written in the official language of the Member State where the payment account is offered or, if agreed by the consumer and the payment service provider, in another language.
Member Stes may determine that the statement of fees shall be provided together with information required pursuant to other Union or national legislative acts on payment accounts and related services as long as all the requirements of the first subparagraph are met.
4
EBA, after consulting national authorities and after consumer testing, shall develop implementing technical standards regarding a standardised presentation format of the statement of fees and its common symbol.
EBA shall submit the draft implementing technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph to the Commission by 18 September 2016.
Power is conferred on the Commission to adopt the implementing technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010.
5
Following the updating of the Union standardised terminology pursuant to Article 3(6), EBA shall, where necessary, review and update the standardised presentation format of the statement of fees and its common symbol, following the procedure set out in paragraph 4 of this Article.

Information for consumers
Article 6
1
Member States shall ensure that in their contractual, commercial and marketing information to consumers, payment service providers use, where applicable, the standardised terms set out in the final list referred to in Article 3(5). Payment service providers may use brand names in the fee information document and in the statement of fees, provided such brand names are used in addition to the standardised terms set out in the final list referred to in Article 3(5) as a secondary designation of those services.
2
Payment service providers may use brand names to designate their services in their contractual, commercial and marketing information to consumers, provided that they clearly identify, where applicable, the corresponding standardised terms set out in the final list referred to in Article 3(5).

Comparison websites
Article 7
1
Member States shall ensure that consumers have access, free of charge, to at least one website comparing fees charged by payment service providers for at least the services included in the final list referred to in Article 3(5) at national level.
Comparison websites may be operated either by a private operator or by a public authority.
2
Member States may require the comparison websites referred to in paragraph 1 to include further comparative determinants relating to the level of service offered by the payment service provider.
3
The comparison websites established in accordance with paragraph 1 shall:
a
be operationally independent by ensuring that payment service providers are given equal treatment in search results;
b
clearly disclose their owners;
c
set out clear, objective criteria on which the comparison will be based;
d
use plain and unambiguous language and, where applicable, the standardised terms set out in the final list referred to in Article 3(5);
e
provide accurate and up-to-date information and state the time of the last update;
f
include a broad range of payment account offers covering a significant part of the market and, where the information presented is not a complete overview of the market, a clear statement to that effect, before displaying results; and
g
provide an effective procedure to report incorrect information on published fees.
4
Member States shall ensure that information is made available online about the availability of websites that comply with this Article.

Payment accounts packaged with another product or service
Article 8
Member States shall ensure that, when a payment account is offered as part of a package together with another product or service which is not linked to a payment account, the payment service provider informs the consumer whether it is possible to purchase the payment account separately and, if so, provides separate information regarding the costs and fees associated with each of the other products and services offered in that package that can be purchased separately.