FCE has published a position paper on the continued need for a harmonised approach to LNE notifications under PSD2.

Fuel cards are not payment instruments, and it is Fleet Card Europe’s (FCE) view that they should be out of scope of PSD2. However, while currently some Member States also believe that fuel cards are out of scope of PSD2, others classify fuel cards under Article 3 (“Exclusions”). The continued lack of harmonisation on the interpretation of notification requirements under Article 3(k) means that fuel card issuers are dealing with a patchwork of divergent national procedures.

In this position paper, FCE acknowledges that the lack of a harmonised approach across Member States has been recognised as an issue by the EBA, who published guidelines on the limited network exclusion (LNE) under PSD2 in February 2022. However, in the experience of our members a more uniform approach has not been realised.

The paper highlights examples of this persisting lack of harmonisation between National Competent Authorities including:

• Lack of standardised application forms;
• Lack of any application form or portal; and
• Varying response times.

It describes how continued divergence in the application of the LNE does not align with the core principles of the internal market and puts an undue administrative burden on service providers which are currently deemed by Competent Authorities to fall under LNE.

It is FCE’s strong view that the EU needs to create a harmonised approach to the treatment of fuel cards and LNE notification requirements.