Brussels, 7 June 2023
The Commission welcomes the provisional agreement reached yesterday between the European Parliament and the Council on the new directive concerning financial services contracts concluded at a distance. As proposed by the Commission in May 2022, this directive aims to amend the rules established back in 2002, strengthen consumer rights and foster the cross-border provision of financial services in the single market.
Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, said:
“I am glad that the co-legislators could find a swift agreement on this important file, which will ensure that EU consumers are adequately protected when concluding financial services contracts online, including for new products that might come onto the market.”
Over the last 20 years, distance marketing of consumer financial services has changed rapidly. Financial providers and consumers have abandoned the fax machine and financial services are increasingly sold online. In addition, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns has accelerated the use of online shopping in general.
The rules introduced in the directive will serve as a safety net for the financial services that are not covered by sector specific legislation. They include actions ensuring that withdrawing from a contract is as easy as signing it, that any consumer can have the right to talk to a real person instead of a machine when the explanation provided via online tools like chatboxes is not clear enough, clear guidelines for providing information before signing a contract, and special rules to protect consumers from being manipulated, when concluding financial services contracts online.
As the next step, the European Parliament and the Council will now have to formally adopt yesterday’s political agreement. More information on the directive can be found online.
Source – EU Commission