The new rules are already in effect.
Additional charges for payments made with credit or debit cards are set to be a thing of the past for Irish consumers, thanks to a new European Union directive.
The revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) came into effect as of Saturday 13 January, 2018, in a bid to modernise payment services.
The new rules prohibit surcharging, and apply both to online and in-store shopping.
Increased safety and convenience are additional factors, as the new directive introduces strict security requirements for electronic payments and for the protection of financial data.
PSD2 will also reduce customers’ liability for non-authorised payments, and introduce a “no questions asked” refund right for direct debits in euro.
European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis hailed the move, highlighting a potential saving of over €550 million per year.
“This legislation is another step towards a digital single market in the EU,” he said.
“It will promote the development of innovative online and mobile payments, which will benefit the economy and growth.
“We are banning surcharges for consumer debit and credit card payments. This could save more than €550m per year for EU consumers.
“Consumers will also be better protected when they make payments,” he added.
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