EU banks face uncertainties over open banking promoted by PSD2

68% of bankers fear that PSD2 will cause them to lose control of the client interface and many remain unsure how to respond to the new directive. (88%) of banks expect to see growing competition from third party digital services providers. 68% believe that PSD2 will (further) weaken the position of Europe’s banks.

According to the report entitled Catalyst or threat? The strategic implications of PSD2 for Europe’s banks, the banks fears result from two new PSD2 requirements: third parties, such as fintechs, telecom providers, tech and data companies, will be officially recognised as participants in the payment services market and banks will have to provide these third parties with access to account and payment data, allowing them to leverage client data for services or to execute payments on behalf of customers once they have given their consent.

81% of consumers surveyed for the study use third party services, such as online payment systems to shop online. 82% agree fully or in part that online retailers and others can handle payments just as securely and reliably as their own banks. 76% of banks stated that customer focus was their top priority for the coming years.