Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration the Government has given to bringing forward legislative proposals to protect customers who use payment initiation services under the revised Payment Services Directive in the event that a product ordered online does not (a) arrive or (b) meet the customer's expectations.

The Payment Services Regulations 2017 (which implement the second Payment Services Directive, PSDII) were laid in Parliament on 19 July 2017 and will apply from 13 January 2018. This brings payment initiation services into regulation for the first time. PSDII is a maximum harmonising Directive, which means the Government is not able to go beyond the explicit requirements on protections for customers using payment initiation services from January 2018.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out consumers’ rights regarding the arrival and condition of goods and services, which apply regardless of the method of payment used. There are separate existing protections that apply to consumers who order a product online but don’t receive it or are dissatisfied in the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.