Austrian Payment Services Act

The Payment Service Directive (PSD) contains the basis for the realisation of uniform European payment transactions and applies as part of the defined application area with ZaDiG 2018 for all currencies.
The EU Directive 2007/64 (“Payment Service Directive”) was implemented in Austrian law with the Payment Services Act 2009. The Payment Services Act 2018 (ZaDiG) now implements the new version of the Payment Services Directive (EU Directive 2015/2366 Payment Service Directive 2 - PSD 2) in Austrian law.
The ZaDiG is primarily a rule for strengthening consumer interests and constitutes a joint legal basis in the European Union for a uniform European payment area.

Special attention is paid in the Payment Services Act to payment transactions and for payment accounts to the following topics:

• Guaranteed transfer period to the bank of the recipient or recipient
• The principle that the booking date is the valuation date
• Cancellation of fees at the end of contract
• Pro-rated allocation of quarterly fees at contract end and start
• New limitations on liability
• Increase in competition by opening the payment transactions for new providers (third-party providers / TPP - payment service providers).

Key regulations for payment transactions

• For payment transactions within the European Economic Area (EEA) and independently of the transfer currency, payment recipients and payers must bear the expenses incurred by their respective payment service providers (“shared expenses”).
• The expense directives “Expense-free for the Client” (BEN) and “Expense-free for the Recipient” (OUR) are prohibited for payments within the EEA.
• All incoming payments shall be made immediately with the date on which the bank received the credited amount, independently of the currency and the client country. The booking takes place on the value date or, if necessary, on the next bank working day.

The Payment Service Directive (PSD) contains the basis for the realisation of uniform European payment transactions and applies in line with the defined scope of application with ZaDiG 2018 for all currencies.

The EU Directive 2007/64 (“Payment Service Directive”) was implemented in Austrian law with the Payment Services Act 2009. The Payment Services Act 2018 (ZaDiG) now implements the new version of the Payment Services Directive (EU Directive 2015/2366 Payment Service Directive 2 - PSD 2) in Austrian law.

The objectives of this provision at a glance:

• Creation of a legal basis for the creation of an EU-wide internal market for payment transactions.
• Cross-border payments should be made as simple, efficient and safe as “national” payments within the member states.
• Increase in competition by opening the payment transactions for new providers (third-party providers (TPP) - payment service providers).
• Step-by-step changeover of the receipt of incoming payments into a documented (electronic) payment transaction to reduce the costs and execution times of the payment transfers.

Key regulations for payment transactions
Expense carrier (SHARE principle)

• For payment transactions within the European Economic Area (EEA), the payment recipient and payer must bear the expenses charged by their respective payment service providers (“shared expenses”).
• Payment orders via electronic channels are automatically changed to the expense instruction “shared expenses” (SHARE), unless otherwise agreed.
• If a different expense regulation is absolutely necessary, please contact your account manager or your Cash Management Advisor.
   

Important information: The settlement on the receiving side deviating from the SHARE principle cannot be guaranteed. The expense instruction “Expense-free for the Client” (BEN) is prohibited for payments within the EEA.

Value date of payment transactions
All incoming payments, irrespective of the currency and the client country, are immediately valued with the date on which the bank received the amount to be credited. The booking takes place on the value date (or, if applicable, the next bank working day).

Account information services and payment initiation services in connection with ZaDiG 2018 - account access by third-party providers from 14/09/2019

With the implementation of the EU Directive 2015/2366 (Payment Service Directive 2 - PSD 2 through the National Payment Services Act - ZaDiG 2018, banks are obligated from 14.9.2019 onwards to make it possible for Third-Party Providers (TPP) to have technical access to the payment transaction accounts of their customers available via online banking; other forms of accounts such as savings or securities accounts, etc. are not affected by this.

Account information services, payment initiation services

There will be two types of third-party providers: Account information service providers and payment initiation service providers.
A TPP must be registered officially as an account information service provider and/or payment initiation service provider and/or must acquire a concession; a TPP can also offer both types of services.

On behalf of his customer, an

• Account information service provider account can collect information (account balance, turnover) on customer-defined payment accounts.
• Payment initiation service providers send a payment order at the expense of a payment transaction account to the bank with whom the account is held for execution.

The services that the TPP offers its customers with the latter’s data are solely the responsibility of the TPP; the bank has no influence over them.

The data exchange between the TPP and the bank with whom the account is held is only correct if the TPP identifies itself technically with every connection to the bank and the customer has actively concluded a contract with the TPP. The bank has no knowledge of the existence and the contents of the contract, but it may assume that there is such a contract if the TPP uses the technical access on behalf of the customer.
Moreover, there must always be an authentication and authorisation of the customer by means of the Internet bank security features created by the customer’s bank (PIN, user number, TAN).

Prerequisites for the legitimate account access by third-party providers

• The customer has actively concluded a contract with the third-party provider
• The customer has an active Internet banking authorisation with the bank with whom his or her account is held and the defined payment accounts are activated for Internet banking (e.g. online banking or BusinessNet).
• The TPP is registered with the competent authority as an account information service provider and/or payment initiation service provider and/or has the required concession.
• The TPP identifies itself upon each connection to the bank; no contractual relationship is required between the TPP and the bank with whom the account is held.
• The bank with whom the account is held has defined and published a technical access for the TPP, via which the data exchange between the TPP and the bank must take place.