UMT AG joins European initiative “Berlin Group NextGenPSD2” for the standardization of interfaces in payment transactions
UMT United Mobility Technology AG (UMT) has joined the European initiative “Berlin Group NextGenPSD2” as part of the Advisory Group. This step underlines UMT’s claim to technological and creative leadership within the framework of the EU payment directive PSD2.
This is the second EU-wide payment services directive that came into force on 13 January 2018 and regulates fees, security standards and data exchange between banks and third-party providers, among other things. In future, it will be possible for regulated third-party providers to request account information from customers, for example, in order to make cover requests for cashless payment transactions. Until now, only banks had sovereignty over account information. Standardized digital interfaces – so-called APIs – are required to enable data exchange. The Directive leaves the technical nature of the interface open, leaving also the design of a standard to market participants. The most widespread standard is the NextGenPSD2 framework of the Berlin Group with a market share of 78%.
By joining the NextGenPSD2 initiative of the Berlin Group, UMT contributes to the spread of modern and secure cashless digital payment transactions.
“We are convinced that the digitization and standardization of payment protocols will enable FinTech companies such as UMT to develop and operate new digital products for consumers at significantly lower costs. Our view is also confirmed by the resolution passed by the German Bundestag on 14 November 2019, which obliges large companies such as Apple and Google to grant free access to their proprietary protocols and NFC interfaces or to build on existing standards such as PSD2,” says Dr. Juergen Schulz, CTO of UMT United Mobility Technology AG.
“Standardized interfaces are the most important driver for functioning ecosystems in the financial market. The NextGenPSD2 initiative offers its participants the opportunity to engage in a dialogue on strategic, business and technical issues related to the use and further development of the standards and beyond. In this way, it contributes to promoting the acceptance of NextGenPSD2, removing barriers and finding optimization potential in order to ensure the usability of NextGenPSD2 for implementers. This is in line with our vision of constructive pan-European cooperation. This enables us to achieve high technical quality and security at an optimal cost structure that meets the requirements of PSD2 and our customers,” continues Dr. Juergen Schulz.
Further information on the Berlin Group can be found at www.berlin-group.org.