In order to enable payment service providers to provide payment services under directive 2015/2366 on payment services (“PSD2”), it is indispensable that they have the possibility to open and maintain accounts with credit institutions.

Under article 10 of PSD2, funds where they are still held by the payment institution and not yet delivered to the payee or transferred to another payment service provider by the end of the business day following the day when the funds have been received, shall be deposited in a separate account in a credit institution. This so-called safeguarding requirement serves the purpose of protecting payment service users’ funds in case of insolvency of the payment institution. Due to the nature of the funds that constitute payment service user’s funds dedicated to payment transactions, the institution is obliged to waive any interest in, or recourse or right against, funds held for safeguarding purpose by the payment institution, for any sum owed to the institution, or owed to any third party.

Safeguarded funds may constitute large amount on the institution’s balance sheet that heavily impact its leverage ratio while being solely dedicated to payment transactions. Impact on the leverage ratio can become an objective motive for the institution to reject access to its accounts under article 36 of PSD2 thereby hindering the efficiency of the EU payment market.

According to article 429a (1) (c) an institution may exclude exposures that are assigned a risk weight of 0% in accordance with Article 113 (6) subject to the prior approval of the competent authorities.

Central banks would meet the criteria of article 113 (6) (a) as it is an institution subject to appropriate prudential requirements, (d) as it is established in the same member state than the institution and (e) as there is no current or foreseen material practical or legal impediment to the prompt transfer of own funds or repayment of liabilities from the central bank to the institution. The fact that central banks are not included in the same consolidation than the institution on a full basis (point (b)) does not make it a less reliable counterparty. Furthermore, central banks are certainly subject to similar if not stricter risk evaluation, measurement, and control procedures (point c).

Finally, these exposures to the institution’s central bank are denominated in the same currency as the deposit taken by the institution and their average maturity does not significantly exceed the average maturity of the deposits taken by the institution.

The exclusion of the safeguarded funds from the total exposure measure for the calculation of the institution’s leverage ratio, to the extent the funds constitute safeguarded funds and are placed by the institution with the central bank would release the pressure on the leverage ratio calculation by the institution and further support the access by payment institutions to accounts with credit institutions under PSD2.