A group of FinTech firms have set up the European Third-Party Provider Association (ETPPA), a new entity that strengthens Third Party Providers’ (TPP) interests around the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2).

The ETPPA formalises the existing Future of European Fintech (FoEF) coalition into an official non-profit TPP trade association.

The FoEF was originally created to unite forces in requesting changes to the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) first draft of the PSD2 Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) in February 2017, on the provisions governing strong customer authentication and secure communication between TPPs and banks, which was interpreting PSD2 against the interests of FinTechs in general, and jeopardising the business of TPPs in particular, according to a statement.

Several FoEF members represented the TPP interest at the European Commission’s API Evaluation Group and FoEF was also invited to take the vacant Payment Initiation Service Provider (PISP) seat at the Euro Retail Payments Board - a high-level body chaired by the European Central Bank - as a guest until a formal representation has been established.

Founding members of the association include PPRO, Bankin’, Eurobits, Sofort and Trustly.

Ralf Ohlhausen, executive advisor at PPRO, commented: “We are delighted to strengthen our position with the launch of the ETPPA, and we encourage all bank-independent TPPs and FinTechs with a significant interest in the PSD2 arena to join us, to bolster our efforts in supporting TPP interests vis-à-vis banks, as well as national and European authorities.

“A crucial aspect of PSD2 is the abolition of the monopoly that banks have over accessing their customers’ account data,” he continued. “This will allow consumers to unlock their data and obtain a wide range of value-added services, it will strengthen the position of financial start-ups, as well as promote the development and use of innovative online and mobile payments and account information services.”

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