Transparency & PSD2 - here we go again!

Financial providers hide fees whenever people send money abroad. They can continue to rip people off because the rules are too vague. You now have the chance to tell the European Commission that they need to put an end to this. Help us make price transparency the norm and stop providers from ripping people off by responding to the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) consultation.

👉 Respond to the European Commission’s consultation👈

How? Read more here

PSD2 is the second Payment Services Directive, designed by the countries of the European Union. It came into effect in 2018. It’s done great things for consumers, like allowing you to pay online in a more secure way or paying via bank transfer for an online service without having to manually type in all the information in your banking app.

You may remember that we wrote about PSD2 before. We were hopeful it could lead to more transparency, and making those hidden fees - or exchange rate markups - a thing of the past. We were wrong. Despite PSD2 saying that consumers should know the ‘real costs and charges’ of a payment, the financial industry found loopholes in the law, enabling them to continue hiding fees in inflated exchange rates.

PSD2 is going through a review process. This means that the European Commission is looking for opinions from consumers like you on what you want to see in the future. You now have the power to tell them to make things better for everyone who moves money internationally.

What needs to change?

PSD2 prohibits the use of non-transparent pricing methods for international payments. Right now, banks and brokers often hide costs in poor exchange rates, which are much lower than the mid-market rate you’d see on Google. Most providers only disclose upfront fees, either a fixed fee or a percentage of the transfer amount. But this means that customers are hit with additional fees when the exchange rate used isn’t the one they’re expecting.

Like the first Payment Services Directive (PSD), PSD2 states that consumers should know ‘the real costs and charges’ of transferring money abroad. But the language isn’t specific enough and it allows providers to use their own inflated exchange rate and claim that the cost is much lower than it is.

That vague language cost European consumers €12.5 billion in hidden fees in a single year. That’s why we need you to tell the European Commission why transparency matters.

Demand more transparency in international finance and stop providers from ripping people off by responding to the European Commission’s consultation. Find out how here.

Since Wise started over a decade ago, we've campaigned to make finance fairer and put an end to hidden fees. Wise has nothing to hide, and we believe other providers shouldn't either. Nothing To Hide is how we tell the policymakers, banks and other providers to take action and make cross-border payments transparent. So you, and other like you, can know exactly how much you're being charged. 

Join the fight and help change the law!