Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Added(a) the basic digital euro payment services referred to in Annex II to the natural persons referred to in Article 13(1), points (a), (b) and (c), or to natural persons acting as self-employed persons in a commercial activity in their capacity as payer;

Added(b) the mandatory digital euro acquiring services referred to in Annex IIa, points (a) and (b), to merchants.

AddedThe first subparagraph of this paragraph is without prejudice to any fees that payment service providers may charge for the provision of additional digital euro payment services not included in Annex II or in Annex IIa, points (a) and (b).

AddedAny merchant service charges and inter-payment service provider fees charged in relation to digital euro payment transactions shall comply with the principle of proportionality. The level of any such charges and fees shall be subject to the caps laid down in Article 15(2) and in this Article.

AddedUse of digital euro payment accounts by natural persons in the course of commercial activities in their capacity as payees shall not be considered to be basic digital euro payment services. Where a natural person obtains basic digital euro payment services by providing incorrect information that would otherwise have precluded the provision of such basic digital euro payment services, the payment service providers concerned shall be allowed to verify or cross-check the activity of that natural person to determine whether that person is using the digital euro payment account for receiving payments in the course of commercial activities. Where that is the case, the payment service provider may restrict or block the account of the natural person, and, where appropriate, terminate the contractual relationship or establish a proportionate limit on the number of received and issued payment transactions that are free-of-charge. the payment service provider concerned shall be allowed to charge a fee for any payment transactions that exceed that limit, in accordance with paragraph 2a. of this Article.

Added1a. Natural persons shall be able to hold, transfer, and receive digital euros without incurring direct transaction costs.

Added1b. Payment service providers shall not impose indirect charges on natural persons through account maintenance fees, minimum balance requirements, or similar mechanisms tied to digital euro usage.

AddedBy way of derogation from paragraph 1, a payment service provider may charge a reasonable fee for any of the following:

Addedthe provision of an additional payment instrument that is provided upon the request of the user as referred to in Annex II, point (g), provided that such fee only covers those functionalities that are already provided free of charge by the other payment instruments ;

Added(b) cash funding and defunding functionalities for digital euro payment accounts referred to in Article 13(2a), point (c) provided that such fee is not more than that charged by the same payment service provider for the provision, in the same manner, of cash services in respect of non-digital euro payment accounts.

AddedFor the purposes of point (a) of this paragraph, the digital forms of a given payment instrument shall not be regarded as an additional payment instrument.

Added1 c. Any fees for additional services provided beyond the basic services referred to in Annex II shall be clearly disclosed in advance, separately itemised from the basic services, and contractually agreed.

Added▌

Added2 a. Merchant service charges and inter-payment service provider fees in respect of digital euro payment services shall be subject to euro-area uniform caps.

AddedThe Commission, with the technical assistance of the European Central Bank, shall, by means of implementing acts be empowered to determine, publish and periodically review the euro-area uniform caps for both inter-payment service provider fees and merchant service charges. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 39.

AddedThe methodology for calculating the euro-area uniform caps referred to in the first subparagraph shall:

Added(a) be based on comparable digital means of payments;

Added(b) provide that the calculation of the euro-area uniform caps is based on the weighted average fee and charge levels based on volume of the inter-payment service provider fee and the merchant service charge applied to the means of payment referred to in point (a) during the preceding 12-month period, relative to the aggregate value of payment transactions in that period; and

Added(c) assess the need for an adjustment factor to the value of the weighted average fee and charge level referred to in point (b) having regard to:

Added(i) the costs for payment service providers associated with connecting to the digital euro payment infrastructure;

Added(ii) the fact that scheme and processing fees are not to be paid by the merchants and payment service providers to the Eurosystem given the public nature of the digital euro payment infrastructure; and

Added(iii) the fact that any potential cost reduction shall be equally assigned among payment service providers and merchants.

Added2 b. To ensure a no worse-off principle is applied to all merchants, the amount of the euro-area uniform cap for the merchant service charge applied by a payment service provider for the provision of a digital euro payment service to a merchant shall not, irrespective of the established level of the euro-area uniform cap, exceed the amount of the merchant service charge levied by that payment service provider on that merchant in respect of any comparable digital means of payment.

Added3. The Commission, with the technical assistance of the European Central Bank, shall collect information on:

Added(a) the fees or charges requested for international and domestic debit card schemes that are usable at points of sale and in e-commerce;

Added(b) inter-payment service provider fees levied on digital euro transactions; and

Added(c) the merchant service charges levied on digital euro transactions.

AddedThe Commission shall publish periodically the aggregate amounts of the fees and charges referred to in the first subparagraph accompanied by an explanatory report.

Added4. The Commission, with the technical assistance of the European Central Bank may require payment service providers to provide all information necessary for the application of this Article and Article 17a and to verify compliance with those Articles. The information requested by the Commission shall be proportionate and directly relevant for its monitoring of compliance, while minimising the reporting burden, avoiding duplication, and relying as much as possible on existing reporting obligations under Directive (EU) 2015/2366 [PSD3/PSR] and existing data sources. Payment service providers shall submit all the requested information to the Commission. The Commission, with the technical assistance of the European Central Bank, may also specify the format, frequency and technical standards for the transmission of the requested information. The Commission, with the technical assistance of the European Central Bank may require that such information is certified by an independent auditor and may carry out further verifications.

Added4 a. The information referred to in paragraph 4 shall not include personal data in line with the principle of data minimisation.

Added.▌

Added6. The merchant service charge shall comprise all fees and charges charged to the merchant per digital euro transaction and shall be expressed as a percentage of the total monetary amount transacted in a given period of time. ▌ For the purpose of applying the ‘no worse-off’ principle referred to in paragraph 2d to the merchant service charge, payment service providers shall disclose to their clients information about the fees charged for the provision of acquiring services with comparable means of payment for that specific merchant. That information shall be disclosed using a standardised format that is clear, simple and easy to understand and that facilitates comparison.

Added7. An inter-payment service provider fee shall not be charged for:

Added(a) offline digital euro transactions;

Added(b) ▌ funding or defunding with the payment service provider belonging to the same group.

AddedArticle 17a Evaluation and revision of fees and charges for the provision of digital euro payment services

Added1. No later than five years from the date of issuance of the digital euro, the Commission, after consulting the European Central Bank, shall carry out a review and submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council to evaluate the compensation model referred to in Article 17 and the cost-based compensation model referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article.

AddedThe Commission shall carry out the review and submit the report referred to in the first subparagraph before the expiry of the period referred to in that subparagraph, as soon as the following conditions are met:

Added(a) sufficient and reliable cost data for digital euro transactions are available in an accurate, harmonised and verifiable manner;

Added(b) the average unit costs and volume of total digital euro transactions have stabilised after the consumers’ adoption period.

AddedThe report referred to in the first subparagraph shall, in any event, assess the quality of the data used to reach its conclusions taking into consideration the conditions set out in the second subparagraph.

Added2. The report referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall include a comparison between the fees and charges that could result from a cost-based compensation model, including a reasonable margin of profit, and the data collected pursuant to Article 17(3).

Added3. The Commission shall, one month after the submission of the report pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, adopt an implementing act, to establish uniform conditions for a new cost based compensation model to replace the compensation model referred to in Article 17, unless the report carried out in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article concludes that the compensation model referred to in Article 17 provides lower costs for merchants, greater efficiency and competition in the payment markets. The reasons for such conclusion shall be included in the report. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 39.

AddedA cost-based compensation model as referred to in the first subparagraph shall comply with the following:

Added(a) merchant service charges or inter-payment service provider fees shall be determined by the relevant costs incurred by a group of the most efficient payment service providers for the provision of digital euro payment services, including a reasonable margin of profit;

Added(b) the fee structure shall be uniform and applied in a non-discriminatory manner across the Union, ensuring a homogeneous regime for all payment service providers and merchants and provide for proportionate treatment for small value transactions initiated in small merchants, understood as microenterprises within the meaning of Article 2(3) of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, including the possibility for a flat fee or per transaction fee, to avoid disproportionate cost burdens.

AddedThe European Central Bank shall periodically provide technical assistance to the Commission for calculating the caps referred to in the second subparagraph.

Added4. The reasonable margin of profit referred to in paragraph 2 and in paragraph 3, second subparagraph, point (a), shall be calculated on the basis of the profit margin applied by the payment service providers charging the lowest margins distributed in the euro area in a given year, as reported to the Commission by a statistically representative sample of payment service providers in each Member State.

Added5. The European Central Bank shall provide technical assistance to the Commission by means of collecting the data referred to in Article 17(3). Such data shall be updated by the European Central Bank and published in aggregated form to promote transparency.

Added6. In the event that an implementing act is not adopted pursuant to paragraph 3, the Commission shall perform the review set out in paragraph 1 at least every two years as of the first review until such time as an implementing act is adopted pursuant to paragraph 3. Paragraphs 2 to 5 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Added7. At least every five years from the adoption of the implementing act referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission, with the technical assistance of the European Central Bank, shall evaluate the data available according to paragraph 3, third subparagraph. If that evaluation concludes that the cost-based caps on fees and charges requires an update, the Commission shall be empowered to amend such implementing act accordingly.

AddedThe empowerment to amend the implementing act set out in the first subparagraph shall only be valid until the Commission adopts an amending implementing act according to that subparagraph, which takes in consideration the impact of the level of take-up by digital euro users, the maturity of the system, the development of more efficient business models or technological innovation, and concludes that the relevant costs are zero or near to zero.

Added1. Payment service providers shall not impose, among others, account maintenance fees, inactivity fees, minimum balance requirements, or similar charges, for the use of digital euro accounts for basic payment services.

Added2. Payment service providers shall not bundle basic digital euro services with additional services in a manner that makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for users to access basic services without charge.

Added3. Payment service providers shall not discriminate against users or merchants who utilise only basic services by reducing the quality of the service, by delaying processing, or through other means.

Added4. Member States' competent authorities shall monitor compliance with this Article and shall impose effective, proportionate, and dissuasive penalties for its infringement, including imposing orders to refund improperly charged fees with interest.

AddedArticle 18 Distribution of the digital euro to natural and legal persons residing or established in Member States whose currency is not the euro

Added1. Payment service providers may▌ distribute the digital euro only to natural and legal persons residing or established in a Member State whose currency is not the euro if the European Central Bank and the national central bank of that Member State have signed an agreement to that effect.

Added2. The signing of the agreement referred to in paragraph 1 shall be subject to all of the following conditions:

Added(a) the Member State whose currency is not the euro has notified to the other Member States, the Commission and the European Central Bank the request to provide access to and use of the digital euro to natural and legal persons residing or established in that Member State.