Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 7 September 2018
191. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Finance the further work which has been carried out in respect of the national payments strategy with the Central Bank and financial services industry, in particular the expansion of such services that can be carried out by credit unions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36971/18]
View answerOver the past number of years, the EU has been creating a single market for payments across the Member States and my Department has been working on transposing those measures.
The Payment Accounts Directive was transposed in September 2016, ensuring access to a payment account with basic features for anyone who does not have a payment account. The revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), transposed earlier this year, further opens the EU payment market for companies offering consumer or business-oriented payment services based on access to payment accounts and ensures a level playing field for both existing and new players.
The Deputy may also be interested to know that the Central Bank intends to establish a forum on retail payments, and that my Department has commissioned research to benchmark payments in Ireland.
The provision of payment services by credit unions is subject to the provisions of the Credit Union Act 1997 and the Credit Union Act 1997 (Regulatory Requirements) Regulations 2016, which allow credit unions to engage in a variety of payment services. Certain additional payment services, including current accounts, require Central Bank approval.
To date the Central Bank has approved a suite of additional services known as a Member Personal Current Account Service (MPCAS) for 46 credit unions having aggregate total assets of €8.1bn of total sectoral assets of €17.5bn. The approved MPCAS service allows credit unions to offer debit cards, overdrafts and a full range of payment services. The Central Bank has published details of MPCAS on its website along with the approval process, details of the application requirements and related guidance. The timing of the roll-out of MPCAS is a matter for credit unions themselves.
