EU: New E-Money Directive

The European Parliament has approved the text of a new E-Money Directive, aimed at providing the internal market with a legal framework, which removes obstacles to market entry. The Directive is meant to be transposed by the EU member states into national law by 2011.

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European Parliament

The European Parliament has approved the text of a new E-Money Directive. At this stage, the adopted text can be found in the compilation of resolutions adopted on Friday 24 April 2009 (from page 142).



Here are the exact references:

P6_TA-PROV(2009)0322

The business of electronic money institutions ***I

European Parliament legislative resolution of 24 April 2009 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions, amending Directives 2005/60/EC and 2006/48/EC and repealing Directive 2000/46/EC (COM(2008)0627 – C6-0350/2008 – 2008/0190(COD))

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

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Scope

Article 1 of the E-Money Directive lays down the scope:

Article 1
Subject matter and scope

1. This Directive lays down the rules for the ▌pursuit ▌of the ▌activity of issuing electronic money in accordance with which Member States shall distinguish the following five categories of electronic money issuers:

(a) credit institutions, as defined in point 1 of Article 4 of Directive 2006/48/EC, including, in accordance with national law, branches within the meaning of point 3 of Article 4 of that Directive located in the Community in accordance with Article 38 of the same Directive of credit institutions having their head offices outside the Community;

(b) electronic money institutions, as defined in point 1 of Article 2 including, in accordance with national law and Article 8, branches located in the Community of the electronic money institutions having their head offices outside the Community;

(c) post office giro institutions which are entitled under national law to issue electronic money;

(d) the European Central Bank and national central banks when not acting in their capacity as monetary authority or other public authorities;

(e) Member States or their regional or local authorities when acting in their capacity as public authorities.

2. Title II of this Directive also lays down the rules for the taking up, the pursuit and the prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions.

3. Member States may waive the application of all or part of the provisions of Title II of this Directive to the institutions referred to in Article 2 of Directive 2006/48/EC, with the exception of those referred to in the first and second indent of that Article.

4. This Directive does not apply to monetary value stored on instruments exempted as specified in Article 3(k) of Directive 2007/64/EC.

5. This Directive does not apply to monetary value that is used to make payment transactions exempted as specified in Article 3(l) of Directive 2007/64/EC.


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Commission response

The Commission issued an explanatory press release, which welcomed the EP resolution:

European Commission welcomes the European Parliament’s adoption of two proposals in the area of payments (on e-money and cross-border payments) (24 April 2009; IP/09/637)



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Final adoption

The new Directive is now heading for final adoption by the Council and subsequent publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).


Ralf Grahn