The much anticipated Payments Services Directive (PSD), which came into force in November 2009, provides the legal underpinning of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). The PSD also offers a new regime of protection for payment service users covering all EU currency payments, not just in euros. It supports the single market by removing many existing and often archaic regulations and practices at member state level.
It is part of a wider vision of European legislators to open up Europe's financial services and create a level playing field and an environment where citizens of all member states can transfer money within countries and across the region with clear expectations of performance and full transparency.
