The European Commission opened in June a call for projects on open finance for innovative firms in Europe. The call is directed to companies or projects in any EU Member State considering to leverage open finance, with the aim of helping the regulators to find the right approach in this area.  Alongside with the public consultation on open finance on policy related questions, the European Commission is interested in learning about innovative projects in the area developed by start-ups, and it invited applicants to send a short description by 1 July 2022. The selected projects will be presented in a virtual Fintech lab with the European Commission later in the summer.

In the area of payment services, the legislation that at the European level has formalized all the structures necessary to ensure the proper functioning of transactions that take place digitally is the European Payment Services Directive, better known as the PSD, now in its second version (and work is underway on the third). More precise, PSD2 is a provision, desired by the EU, that lays the legal foundation for a single payments market across Europe, aimed at establishing innovative and secure payment services for member states. Officially published in the European Journal in 2015, it was then effectively transposed on September 14, 2019.

The legislation, which regulates the activities of new players, the famous Third Party Providers, has as its main objectives the creation of an integrated and efficient competitive market, which at the same time focuses on the safety of end consumers. In line with what has already been mentioned, Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) not only sets new paradigms, but also constitutes one of the key directions of innovation for the entire industry. As the Payment Services Directive PSD2 is being reviewed, the European Commission is also considering how to "promote safe open finance beyond the scope of the PSD2, across the financial sector and beyond".

This initiative is part of the digital finance outreach, a series of events which focus on fintech and digital innovation in the financial sector. Inform and shape the EU digital finance strategy is the aim, that’s why the European Commission organizes public discussions capable of gathering key stakeholders such as Member States, national competent authorities, European organizations, financial institutions, market infrastructures, all other financial services providers, the public, and so on.

Documents:

EU Commission's Digital Finance Outreach

Commission's call for evidence and public consultation on open finance