How the Payment Services Directive will affect you as a Business

HSBC is ready for a new era of payments across Europe

At HSBC we’re dedicated to delivering consistently high standards of services for our corporate customers whenever you make payments. So we recognise the advantages of the EU initiative to harmonise payment services laws across Europe through the Payment Services Directive.

Greater clarity and consistency

The Payment Services Directive was passed into Irish Legislation by the Minister for Finance as the European Communities (Payment Services) Regulations 2009 on 29 September 2009 and is effective from 1 November 2009. The Legislation creates increased transparency for rates and charges as well as consistent execution times and customer protection.

The PSD and the Irish Legislation is primarily aimed at protecting the interests of personal customers and small businesses, many of the benefits are not relevant to businesses of your size and the European Commission has given banks the option to opt-out of a small number of areas of the Directive as a result.

HSBC has chosen to apply for the opt-out for customers that fall into the Corporate category. Our clients in Ireland are all categorised as Corporate (that is businesses with a turnover in excess of €2 million, including associates and affiliates). We feel that this is a step that protects the interest of both bank and customer and allows us to manage payments on terms that are more appropriate for larger businesses.

We have updated our Terms and Conditions to reflect the requirements set out in the Legislation.

What does the Legislation mean for your business?

The principal aim is to ensure that banks and other providers of payment services across Europe offer a consistent level of service and are transparent in their dealings with customers, by:

• Providing you with all the information you need when you make a payment, including clear information about rates and charges.
• Offering a consistent level of service, such as making sure all payments are completed within a predetermined timeframe.
• Protecting customers across Europe when payments aren't executed correctly or authorised by the customer.

What it means for your payments

You may not notice significant changes in how your payments are handled by us, because in most instances HSBC already meets or exceeds the standards set down by the European Communities (Payment Services) Regulations 2009.

The Legislation applies on most types of payment on your accounts, including electronic fund transfers, SEPA payments and other international payments and card payments. All EU currencies, domestic and cross border transactions are covered by the Legislation.

It does not cover:

• Paper based payments such as cheques and bankers’ drafts.
• Global market transactions.
• Trade Services.
• Liquidity Management Services.

As a HSBCnet customer please click here to see how payments will change.

In response to the Payments Services Directive the Irish Payments Services Organisation has also updated the Direct Debiting Scheme Rules. A description of all the changes is available on www.ipso.ie.

Changes to your categorisation as a corporate business

We will update our records of the turnover of your business (including all associated business) if you tell us that the initial categorisation no longer applies and at each annual review. You must also tell us if the annual turnover of your business (including all associated businesses) falls below €2 million at any other time.

Expect the same high standards from HSBC

With an international network of over 9,500 offices in 83 countries including 16 European countries covered by the Payment Services Directive, we are ideally placed to manage your payments across Europe and globally. The expertise of our staff and the quality of our international systems will ensure your payments are made smoothly and reliably throughout Europe and the rest of the world.