(30 October 2019 – Europe) Clear regulatory frameworks and harmonisation are holding back cross-border banking and payment services across the EU, says the European Banking Authority (EBA).
The rise of digital services should be helping incumbent and newcomer providers reach more people, including cross-borders, the EBA has said in a report developed under its Fintech Roadmap.
However this promise is not being fully realised within the EU, in part due to divergences in regulatory requirements and supervisory practices across the Member States, the report has found.
A major problem for firms is the lack of clear guidance on how to even classify cross-border activity under the freedom to provide services or right of establishment.
A second challenge stems from areas of EU law – such as consumer protection, conduct of business, and AML rules – that are not fully harmonised or are not yet covered.
The EBA is calling on the EC to further harmonise rules and to make it easier to identify cross-border services taking account of the digitisation of the financial services industry.