EN
E-001440/2022
Answer given by Ms McGuinness
on behalf of the European Commission (7.6.2022)
1. Article 3(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/12301 on cross-border payments (CBPR2) requires that charges levied by a payment service provider on cross-border payments in euro, including automated teller machine (ATM) withdrawals, be the same as those they levy for corresponding national payments of the same value in the Member State where the consumer has their account. This means that charges applied in cross-border situations shall not exceed charges applied in the country where the consumer has the account.
2. Surcharges applied on ATM withdrawals are not necessarily a breach of EU law, as the Regulation only requires that ATM charges be equalised between domestic and cross-border payments, not that they are prohibited. The Commission has no evidence which would indicate that the equalisation rule of Regulation (EU) 2021/1230 is improperly applied and enforced. The Commission considers that, as long as the principle of equality of charges is respected, the level of charges may be left to the market and to the free competition between payment service providers.
3. To ensure uniform application and interpretation of the principle of equality of charges, the Commission services published, in early 2020, frequently asked questions and a note on the application of the Regulation with regard to direct charging of cardholders for cross-border ATM withdrawals.
Source: European Parliament