PSD2’s $2 Billion UK Bank Tax

In the United Kingdom, British banks could see a £1.45 billion ($2.1 billion) hit to revenues across the next few years, as part of a trend where mobile apps are taking the field, allowing for what Financial Times reported would be a longer-term movement towards consumers taking care of their financial and banking needs at the same time.

The merchants themselves would be able to help bring payments directly from consumer financial accounts and to sidestep card networks, including Visa and MasterCard, and some fee and interchange charges.

FT noted that the Europe-centered Payments Services Directive 2 (PSD2) mandates that third parties should be allowed to access data (with the end user’s permission) and also help create those apps.

The £1.45 billion mentioned above contains the card transaction revenues that would be lost should interchange fees be eliminated. One key driver, according to Accenture, is the fact that merchants and other firms that are less proactive on technology could see debit cards that still have limits, even as upstart businesses are growing.

In a recent statement, Hannah Nixon, managing director of the U.K.’s Payment Systems Regulator, said that innovation and competition are to be encouraged in the sector, with an eye on technology that would help “find new and ever more convenient ways for people to pay.”