Payment Services Directive (PSD2) sets out clear rules, provides transparency and protection to clients

The primary focus of banking is now on customer experience

There is a dramatic change in customer expectations and the way of using financial services. Customer experience has come into central focus. This what Teodora Petkova, Chairperson of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer of UniCredit Bulbank, said during her participation in the Financial Forum Innovations organized by Bank of the Year Association. UniCredit Bulbank is a partner of forum. ‘In this context, the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) provides for more transparent business, a more competitive and secure environment’, she said.  

Teodora Petkova said that at the beginning of the following week payment service providers will be able to use a Pan-European interface of UniCredit Group with the purpose of using services as defined in PSD2, i.e. access to accounts and payment services. The special interface in compliance with the revised PSD2 is based on the guidelines of the Berlin Group and BISTRA market initiative. UniCredit Developer Portal’s website: developer.unicredit.eu

‘PSD2 is important because it regulates market rules both for banks and for the other market participants no matter whether it comes down to Fintech or large IT companies. The directive lays down clear and transparent rules for everybody, which ensures clients’ protection’, Mrs. Petkova said.

According to an analysis of the international advisor and counselor McKinsey & Company, presented by Petko Rangelov, an associated partner in the Middle East of McKinsey & Company ‘clients want everything in one place but not necessarily by one and the same institution’. He believes that this is good news for open banking. ‘This provides an opportunity to combine various solutions in one platform. ‘Banks, which store a lot of data, have to analyze it and turn it into something useful which users would pay for’, Mr. Rangelov said.

Open banking offers new players an opportunity to compete with banks. This is also a new opportunity for banks to expand their services. ‘Banks have a huge advantage. When clients are asked who they would entrust their money to: banks, Fintech, start-ups, Apple, Google, etc., the answer is ‘banks”. Although banks will lose a monopoly over data by applying PSD2 and open banking, they have an advantage with regard to the feeling of security and reliability’, Mr. Rangelov said. 

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Information about UniCredit Bulbank

UniCredit Bulbank is a leader on the Bulgarian market as a bank number one in terms of assets, loans for business and households, deposits for companies and individuals, share capital and others. The bank holds leading positions with regard to profitability and efficiency.  UniCredit Bulbank is part of UniCredit Group which employs a clear and long-term strategy to be a successful Pan-European commercial bank. UniCredit Group services 26 million clients in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. It has gained wide local and international experience shared with its clients through leading banks on 14 major European markets: Italy, Germany, Austria, Bosna and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey.  UniCredit Group services clients in another 18 countries worldwide through its international network.

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Additional media information:

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