Payment Services Directive (PSD2)

(15) Payment Services Directive (PSD1) — repealed excludes from its scope certain payment transactions by means of telecom or information technology devices where the network operator not only acts as an intermediary for the delivery of digital goods and services through the device in question, but also adds value to those goods or services. In particular, that exclusion allows for so-called operator billing or direct to phone-bill purchases which, starting with ringtones and premium SMS services, contribute to the development of new business models based on the low-value sale of digital content and voice-based services. Those services include entertainment, such as chat, downloads such as video, music and games, information such as on weather, news, sports updates, stocks and directory enquiries, TV and radio participation such as voting, competition entry, and provision of live feedback. Feedback from the market shows no evidence that such payment transactions, trusted by consumers as convenient for low-threshold payments, have developed into a general payment intermediation service. However, due to the ambiguous wording of the relevant exclusion, it has been implemented differently across Member States, leading to a lack of legal certainty for operators and consumers and occasionally allowing payment intermediation services to claim eligibility for an unlimited exclusion from the scope of Payment Services Directive (PSD1) — repealed. It is therefore appropriate to clarify and narrow the scope of eligibility for that exclusion for such service providers by specifying the types of payment transactions to which it applies.