Early in December, Facebook finally unveiled their newly acquired licenses for e-money and payment services out of Ireland. The rumors of Facebook entering the payment space in Europe have been going on ever since it was reported that Facebook applied for a money transfer license a while ago. Another clear indication of Facebook’s ambitions in payments was the hiring of former PayPal president David Marcus as head of Facebook Messenger. As Mark Zuckerberg stated in January last year, “We’ll partner with everyone who does payments.” http://tcrn.ch/2jMx4KX
The adoption of the revised Directive on Payment Services (PSD2) has set the stage for open banking in Europe. By providing standardized access to customer data and banking infrastructure, PSD2 will lower the barriers for entry to third-party providers and financial technology companies (FinTechs), and it will stimulate the development of new business models and a wide range of new banking services. In this way, PSD2 will be a catalyst for both disruption and strategic renewal in Europe’s banking markets.PwC Report: The strategic implications of PSD2 for Europe’s banks: http://bit.ly/2iSEaPK
