PSD2 — Payment Services Directive
What is PSD2? Explanation of Payment Services Directive 2 — how it affects banking, fintechs and payment security in Poland.
What is PSD2?
PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2) is a European Union directive regulating payment services that came into force in January 2018 (with full implementation of technical requirements by 2019–2020). It replaced the earlier PSD directive from 2007.
Main goals of PSD2:
- Opening the payments market to new players (fintechs)
- Increasing security of electronic payments
- Consumer protection
- Stimulating innovation in the financial sector
Key changes introduced by PSD2
Open banking
PSD2 requires banks to provide APIs (application programming interfaces) through which licensed third parties can — with customer consent — access account data and initiate payments.
New categories of entities
- AISP — account information service providers (can read account data)
- PISP — payment initiation service providers (can order transfers)
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)
PSD2 requires two-factor authentication for electronic payments. You must confirm your identity with two of three elements:
- Something you know — password, PIN
- Something you have — phone, card
- Something you are — fingerprint, facial recognition
That's why for online payments you must confirm transactions in your banking app.
Consumer protection
- Lower liability for unauthorized transactions (max 50 EUR vs. previously 150 EUR)
- Ban on charging surcharges for consumer card payments
- Faster complaint resolution
PSD2 in Poland
In Poland, PSD2 was implemented through amendments to the Payment Services Act. KNF (Polish Financial Supervision Authority) supervises AISP and PISP entities. Polish banks provide APIs compliant with the PolishAPI standard.
PSD3 — what's next?
The European Commission is working on PSD3 and the accompanying PSR (Payment Services Regulation). Planned changes include better fraud protection, API standardization and extending regulation scope to new payment forms.
How Freenance can help
Freenance operates under PSD2 regulations — it safely connects to your bank accounts to automatically import transactions. Everything is legal, with your consent and under regulatory supervision.
Want full control over your finances?
Try Freenance for free