OREANDA-NEWS. Supranational regulations such as the European Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) will burden credit card portfolio profitability and create new risks and opportunities, Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG) said today.

The impact of PSD2 on credit cards and issuers more broadly was at the forefront of the agenda at ACG's first UK Card Finance Roundtable meeting of 2016. The executive group, which convenes Finance Directors, CFOs, & SVPs of Finance and Accounting for leading issuers, meets regularly to discuss key financial management and compliance-related topics. The wide reaching implications of the directive ensures it features across all of ACG's UK roundtables, from our UK Collections and Recoveries Roundtable to UK Customer Service, and is also a focus of discussion at our Fraud Operations Roundtable next month.

PSD2 is set to be one of the most disruptive payment directives ever implemented in the UK, when it is adopted by member states in 2018. While the first iteration of PSD in 2007 aimed to make payments simpler and more efficient across Europe through the creation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), the implications of PSD2 are far more potent for issuers and payment providers more broadly.

PSD2 will open the payments infrastructure and allow access to consumer account information to market players through the use of Application Programming Interface (API). By facilitating this direct access, API will establish two new roles in the EU payment landscape: Account Information Service Providers (AISPs) and Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs).

"Opening the payment landscape presents a unique set of challenges for issuers and card schemes, while presenting retailers and information aggregators such as comparison websites with previously inaccessible data," said Carina Da Cruz, Director of UK Industry Roundtables at ACG.

Practically speaking, a PISP will have the right to initiate payments on behalf of the consumer by establishing a direct connection with the consumer's bank upon authentication. Consumers will grant a PISP, such as an online retailer, permission to perform a payment transaction directly, thus bypassing multiple traditional payment participants including, most obviously, the merchant acquirer and card scheme. Significantly, this relationship will stay active to facilitate future payments until the consumer removes permission.

Second, AISPs will for the first time provide consumers with an aggregate view of their financial situation by combining multi-institution account information into a single portal. AISPs will have a direct connection with each financial institution and aggregate this information through a single authentication portal. More significantly, with this information AISPs will have the ability to cross-sell consumers more relevant, tailored propositions based on usage data.

The introduction of new players with direct access to consumer data will undoubtedly present significant challenges to issuers by way of lost revenue and increased competition. However, there are significant opportunities for issuers; members of ACG's UK Card Collections and Recoveries Roundtable meeting in February discussed the challenges of obtaining reliable consumer financial information to complete accurate affordability assessments. API could allow issuers to assess debt affordability to a previously unattainable level of accuracy.

"API opens up a host of new opportunities to produce better customer outcomes, and issuers should rightfully be asking the European Commission for greater clarity regarding their ability to access cross institution account information to facilitate this," said Da Cruz.

At the ACG UK Card Fraud Operations Roundtable in April, members will discuss the technical details of implementing new authentication processes mandated by PSD2. Opening the payment landscape to new players will require next generation multi-factor authentication technology to ensure consumers are protected and liability is shared fairly.

"PSD2 will remain front of mind for members across all of our UK roundtables as adoption looms," said Da Cruz. "Our model provides the ideal opportunity for market players to discuss the technical detail of the directive and assess the impact on individual portfolios." 

About Auriemma Consulting Group

ACG is a boutique management consulting firm with specialised focus on the Payments and Lending space. We deliver actionable solutions and insights that add value to our clients' business activities across a broad set of industry topics and disciplines. Founded in 1984, ACG has grown from a one-man shop to a nearly 50-person firm with offices in London and New York.