Download Consumer Financial Services Action Plan

European Commission - Press release
Consumer Financial Services Action Plan: Better products and more choice
for European consumers
Brussels, 23 March 2017
Consumer Financial Services Action Plan: Better products and more choice for European
consumers
The European Commission is today presenting an Action Plan that sets out ways to provide
European consumers with greater choice and better access to financial services across the
EU. At the heart of today's launch is a focus on technology, given that innovative online
services will drive progress towards a more integrated market for financial services. To that
end, we are also publishing a consultation on technology and its impact on the European
financial services sector (so called ‘FinTech') to spur our work in this area.
President Juncker's Commission has committed to developing a deeper and fairer Single Market,
including through digital means. In terms of financial services, this means enhancing competition and
improving choice so that consumers can enjoy lower prices and better quality, regardless of whether or
not they shop abroad for financial services such as bank accounts, car insurance and money transfers.
This Action Plan seeks to prise open national barriers as only 7% of consumers currently buy financial
services from another EU Member State. All consumers should be able to choose freely from a wide
range of financial services available across the EU and get the best value for their money while being
confident that they are well protected. In a true Single Market, the distinction between domestic and
foreign providers should no longer matter. Financial service providers should also be able to reap the
benefits of the EU's entire market.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President responsible for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital
Markets Union, said: "European consumers and firms should be able to take full advantage of a true
Single Market for financial services. Consumers should have access to the best products available
across the EU, not just within their own country. At the same time, we want to explore the full
potential of the technology that's out there. If harnessed well, it has the potential to change for the
better the financial industry and the way people access financial services."
Jyrki Katainen, Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness said: "This
ambitious Action Plan presents targeted measures that will gradually deepen our Single Market and
have a real impact on the lives of European citizens. When we launched the Capital Markets Union, we
pledged to improve access to finance and consumer financial services for the good of consumers and
businesses, while also keeping pace with developments in financial technologies.”
Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality said, “While the right to
move freely within the EU continues to be the most cherished right of Europeans, consumers in the EU
are still experiencing too many barriers in their daily lives. Be it when opening a bank account, when
buying car insurance or asking for credit: as soon as there is a cross-border dimension, things get
complicated. Today we map out a plan to give consumers better products and more choice, improving
clarity and protection of financial services.”
The Action Plan
The Commission has identified three main strands of further work to move a step closer to a genuine
Single Market for financial services:
- Increase consumer trust and empower consumers when buying services at home or from
other Member States. Among other things, we want to make it easier for drivers to take their noclaims bonus ('bonus-malus') abroad. We also want to reduce fees for cross-border transactions
involving non-Euro currencies and we will be taking steps towards more transparent pricing of car
rental insurance.
- Reduce legal and regulatory obstacles affecting businesses when seeking to expand abroad.
This will include working on common creditworthiness assessment criteria and facilitating the
exchange of data between credit registers.
- Support the development of an innovative digital world which can overcome some of the
existing barriers to the Single Market. We will work with the private sector to explore how they
could use electronic identification and trust services for checking the identity of customers. We will
also monitor the practices of digital providers to decide if rules for selling financial services
remotely - such an online or by phone - should be updated.
The Commission has already tackled many of the regulatory obstacles to the Single Market in
consumer financial services through EU legislation. Today's Action Plan sets out a roadmap for further
work. Many of the actions will need to involve stakeholders such as national supervisory authorities,
service providers and consumer organisations.
FinTech: the new frontier in financial services
The speedy development of FinTech brings new opportunities for both consumers and companies. It
has the potential to improve consumers' access to financial services across the Single Market, open up
national barriers and improve efficiency.
In order to help the European FinTech sector operate freely across the EU and be competitive, the
Commission intends to focus on three core principles: technology-neutrality, so that the same rules
are applied to traditionally-sold products and services (e.g. via branches) as those sold digitally; this is
to ensure innovation and a level-playing field. Second, proportionality so that the rules are suitable
for different business models, size and activities of the regulated entities. Third, improved integrity
to ensure transparency, privacy and security for consumers.
As a first step, the Commission invites all interested parties to respond to the FinTech consultation,
which is being launched alongside the #FinTechEU conference taking place in Brussels today. The
consultation aims to gather first-hand information on the impact of new technology on the entire
financial sector. It will help to assess whether EU regulatory and supervisory rules are adequate and
what future actions may be needed.
Background
The EU has already taken a number of measures to achieve a Single Market in consumer financial
services. These include the Payment Accounts Directive, which improves the transparency of bank
account fees and make it easier to switch bank accounts, and the Commission's Digital Single Market
Strategy, which seeks to boost access to digital products and services. In its Action Plan on Building a
Capital Markets Union, the Commission committed to developing stronger capital markets across the
EU and also to improving access to retail investment products.
To identify remaining barriers, the European Commission launched a Green Paper consultation on
Consumer Financial Services in December 2015. The consultation looked at the consumer financial
services market across Europe for products such as insurance, mortgages, loans, payments and bank
accounts. In parallel, a Special Eurobarometer survey was also launched to collect more evidence on
the consumer financial services market.
The Green Paper received 428 contributions from a wide range of stakeholders (consumers, consumer
organisations, financial industry and competent authorities) and it made clear that the barriers to the
functioning of the Single Market affect both consumers and providers
For more information:
See also: MEMO/15/6287
Factsheet
The Consumer Financial Services Action Plan
The Green Paper on Consumer Financial Services Consultation
The Summary of the responses to the Retail Financial Services Consultation
Capital Markets Union Action Plan
The Special Eurobarometer 446
Twitter hashtags: #MyMoneyEU, #EUHaveYourSay
IP/17/609
Press contacts:
Vanessa MOCK (+32 2 295 61 94)
Letizia LUPINI (+32 2 295 19 58)
General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email