Report on the implementation and impact of Directive 2009/110/EC in particular on the application of prudential requirements for electronic money institutions

Background and further information:

Directive 2009/110/EC on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions (EMD2) requires the Commission to present a report to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Central Bank giving a full assessment on the implementation and impact of the Directive, accompanied, where appropriate, by a proposal for its revision, no later than 1 November 2012. This report is the response of the Commission to this requirement. The report covers the years 2009 to 2014.

The production of this report was postponed as a majority of Member States failed to implement the Directive by the transposition date of April 2011. By the deadline for this report to be delivered, i.e on 1 November 2012, only 23 Member States had fully transposed the EMD2 into their respective national law. At that time, the electronic money market had too little practical experience with the EMD2 to provide meaningful feedback on the actual effects of the new legislation. The Commission also considered it important to take account of the results of the review process of the Payment Services Directive (PSD), which will have an impact on the legal framework for e-money institutions through the multiple cross-references in EMD2 to its legal framework. The revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in 2015 and entered into force on 13 January 2016.

+ Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) enters into force

On 5 July 2016, the Commission also adopted a legislative proposal for amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 (the fourth anti-money laundering directive) to address the more recent terrorist financing risks that have been detected after the Paris terrorist attacks. It is likely that this proposal will also have an impact the e-money market in the Union, in particular where it concerns anonymous prepaid instruments, whose use could become more limited. The EMD2 report has not been able to take account of this latest development, but any potential changes to the anti-money laundering/terrorist financing framework for these instruments will have to be taken into account in a possible revision of EMD2.

+ Proposal for a Directive amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing