rec_6

(6) Moreover, significant barriers to the completion of the internal market in the area of payment accounts may be created by the fragmentation of existing national regulatory frameworks. Existing provisions at national level with respect to payment accounts, and particularly with respect to the comparability of fees and payment account switching, diverge. For switching, the lack of uniform binding measures at Union level has led to divergent practices and measures at national level. Those differences are even more marked in the area of comparability of fees, where no measures, even of a self-regulatory nature, exist at Union level. Should those differences become more significant in the future, as payment service providers tend to tailor their practices to national markets, this would raise the cost of operating across borders relative to the costs faced by domestic providers and would therefore make the pursuit of business on a cross-border basis less attractive. Cross-border activity in the internal market is hampered by obstacles to consumers opening a payment account abroad. Existing restrictive eligibility criteria may prevent Union citizens from moving freely within the Union. Providing all consumers with access to a payment account will permit their participation in the internal market and allow them to reap the benefits of the internal market.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-29 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.