This dissertation was written as part of the Master of Laws (LL.M.) in
Transnational and European Commercial Law, Banking Law, Mediation/Arbitration at
the International Hellenic University. The ultimate aim of this paper is to enable
academics, professionals in the banking sector, as well as every person interested in
the field of economic law to comprehend the Commission’s legal framework for
payment services in the European Union and the significant role that payments play
for the liberalization of the financial services within the European Communities (EC)
and for the realization of the internal market. The European Commission’s effort to
create an efficient and true single European market was embodied, inter alia, in the
creation and completion of the Payment Services Directive (PSD), the publication of
which took place in autumn 2007. The PSD regulates the complex and highly technical
field of payment services by setting up common rules on non-cash and electronic
payments across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) with the
purpose of facilitating the cross-border purchasing and by enhancing the financial
safety net, consumer protection and competition. Undoubtedly, this Directive
constitutes a key part of the so-called Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) programme,
an interinstitutional project1
that was initially fostered by means of the banking
industry.
This thesis aspires to unravel the payment services legislation within the EU, to
analyze the types, instruments and providers of payment services focusing on the
substantive provisions of the PSD and to examine the importance of this legal
framework in the context of the broader vision of SEPA. In addition, it will elaborate
the impact of the PSD on the payment system and the reasons that led to the adoption
of the Payment Services Directive II.
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