EBA publishes final Guidelines on limited network exclusion

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its final Guidelines on the limited network exclusion under the Payment Service Directive (PSD2). The Guidelines clarify how competent authorities should assess whether a network of service providers or a range of goods and services qualify as ‘limited’, such that they are excluded from PSD2 under Article 3(k). This follows the EBA’s consultation on its proposals, which closed in October 2021. The Guidelines aim to address prior inconsistencies in the application of the exclusion across the EU.

The Guidelines will apply from 1 June 2022, with a 3-month transitional period to enable issuers who already benefit from the exclusion to submit a new notification to the relevant competent authority.