Cross-Border Payments Regulation 2 and transparency for consumers

23.9.2020

Priority question for written answer P-005201/2020
to the Commission
Rule 138
Dan-Ștefan Motreanu (PPE)

The transparency requirements in the Cross-Border Payments Regulation 2 came into force on 19 April 2020. The delivery of increased transparency and understanding among consumers sending money abroad using credit transfers is based on full disclosure of any transaction fees and any currency conversion charges. However, the lack of clarity in the text of the Regulation results in providers not delivering transparency to consumers regarding the exchange rates used, which is against the spirit of the Regulation.

• 1.To what extent does the Commission agree that the method of calculating the ‘total amount’ as required by the Regulation for credit transfers (Article 5) needs to be clearly defined? Namely, the lack of explicit inclusion of the charges embedded in the exchange rate has led to those charges being excluded from upfront fees shown to consumers.
• 2.Considering these points, does the Commission plan to issue official EU guidance clarifying Article 5 for all stakeholders in credit transfer operations?