Banning Credit card charge surcharges
Credit card surcharges have been banned throughout the EU with effect from yesterday. The ban was implemented by the UK government which after consultation extended it to include payments through PayPal. The ban will continue as UK legislation when we leave the EU. This is a Conservative graphic on the subject which was put out yesterday:
There has been a certain amount of twining about the above Conservative message because the ban was initiated by the European Union, and I blocked one Momentum troll, not for pointing this out, but for doing so in a gratuitously offensive way.
Yes, the ban on credit charge surcharges which came into effect this weekend is part of an EU initiative, the Directive on Payment Services (PSD2).
"European consumers want to know that their payments are safe when they shop or make a payment online. The new Payment Services Directive will ensure that electronic payments in Europe become more secure and more convenient for European shoppers. This legislation is a step towards a digital single market; it will benefit consumers and businesses, and help the economy grow. I want to thank the European Parliament for the work it has put into reaching this agreement, and pay tribute to the work of rapporteur Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Parliament.”
Every single Conservative MEP present and voting when the measure was put to the vote in the European Parliament on 8th October 2015 supported it as you can check at the EU parliament votewatch website here.
As part of the EU withdrawal bill now going through parliament there is a review of which parts of EU law should be incorporated into UK law when Britain leaves the EU in March 2019. If the British government thought this was a bad law they could and would be using this mechanism to drop it. Instead the Conservatives support it and extending it to cover payments by PayPal etc.
As the Economic Secretary to the Treasury when these rules were put into UK law, Stephen Barclay, said at the time:
"Rip-off charges have no place in a modern Britain and that’s why card charging in Britain is about to come to an end. This is about fairness and transparency, and so from next year there will be no more nasty surprises for people at the check-out just for using a card.
These small charges can really add up and this change will mean shoppers across the country have that bit of extra cash to spend on the things that matter to them."
There has been a certain amount of twining about the above Conservative message because the ban was initiated by the European Union, and I blocked one Momentum troll, not for pointing this out, but for doing so in a gratuitously offensive way.
Yes, the ban on credit charge surcharges which came into effect this weekend is part of an EU initiative, the Directive on Payment Services (PSD2).
No, that doesn't mean that British Conservatives had nothing to do with it.
The EU Commissioner responsible for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets at the time the measure was agreed was a UK Conservative, Lord Jonathan Hill, who said of the measure when it was approved by the EU parliament:
The EU Commissioner responsible for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets at the time the measure was agreed was a UK Conservative, Lord Jonathan Hill, who said of the measure when it was approved by the EU parliament:
"European consumers want to know that their payments are safe when they shop or make a payment online. The new Payment Services Directive will ensure that electronic payments in Europe become more secure and more convenient for European shoppers. This legislation is a step towards a digital single market; it will benefit consumers and businesses, and help the economy grow. I want to thank the European Parliament for the work it has put into reaching this agreement, and pay tribute to the work of rapporteur Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Parliament.”
Every single Conservative MEP present and voting when the measure was put to the vote in the European Parliament on 8th October 2015 supported it as you can check at the EU parliament votewatch website here.
As part of the EU withdrawal bill now going through parliament there is a review of which parts of EU law should be incorporated into UK law when Britain leaves the EU in March 2019. If the British government thought this was a bad law they could and would be using this mechanism to drop it. Instead the Conservatives support it and extending it to cover payments by PayPal etc.
As the Economic Secretary to the Treasury when these rules were put into UK law, Stephen Barclay, said at the time:
"Rip-off charges have no place in a modern Britain and that’s why card charging in Britain is about to come to an end. This is about fairness and transparency, and so from next year there will be no more nasty surprises for people at the check-out just for using a card.
These small charges can really add up and this change will mean shoppers across the country have that bit of extra cash to spend on the things that matter to them."
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