Name
Global FinTech Guide
Country _ Name
France
SectionTitle
Payment services
Body
FinTechs belonging to this category offer alternative payment services which are supposed to provide a faster and cheaper way for national, European, and international payments for private and business customers by using new technologies.

For example, payment service providers hereby offer solutions to easily integrate several payment services in online shops.

Some FinTechs furthermore provide real cash register systems and online-reservation solutions for restaurants and shops providing their own payment services or making use of the payment services of FinTechs described above.

Introduction

Attitude of the country towards modern payment services

In the wake of growing standardisation in regulation and reduced costs, payment related FinTechs have seen a significant growth in France in the last decade. Current statistics show that the sector is growing, especially after the adoption of the revised Payment Services Directive commonly designated “PSD2”. 

Indeed, the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de resolution (“ACPR”), being the competent authority for prudential supervision of credit institutions, payment services providers and insurance companies stated in its new panorama on new payment actors published in March 2022, that it had given 62 licenses for payment services institutions and electronic money institutions over the period of 2010-2021, half of them being licensed after 2018 (Electronic money institutions are entitled to offer payment services if they requested it to the ACPR). Thus, this number shows a real mania for new forms of the said services. 

This growth was enhanced by a tech-friendly legal environment and an efficient use of technology in payment services, PSD2 pushing for the adoption of new actors on the market, in particular FinTechs, and expanded the regulation to new services that were not incorporated in the first Payment Services Directive (“PSD1”).

On one hand, PSD2 created an obligation for payment services providers (“PSP”) to implement a strong customer authentication (“SCA”) after being optional under PSD1. The exchange of information was made easier under this compulsory authentication which helped many customers to shift from traditional PSPs towards new actors. This created a healthy competition between traditional actors and FinTechs, helping in boosting innovation and the quality of the said services. 

On the other hand, PSD2 expanded its scope to new payment services providers which are the payment initiation service provider (“PISP”) and the account information service provider (“AISP”). Both are subject to an alleviated regulation which adds to the tech-friendly aspect of PSD2.

It is also important to note that payment services listed in PSD2 have been transposed in article L.314-1 of the French Code monétaire et financier (“CMF”) which covers:

  • Services enabling cash to be placed on a payment account as well as all the operations required for operating a payment account;
  • Services enabling cash withdrawals from a payment account as well as all the operations required for operating a payment account;
  • Execution of payment transactions, including transfers of funds on a payment account with the user’s payment service provider or with another payment service provider:

    a) Execution of direct debits, including one-off direct debits;
    b) Execution of payment transactions through a payment card or a similar device;
    c) Execution of credit transfers, including standing orders.

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