Access to payment systems
Article 35
1. Member States shall ensure that the rules on access of authorised or registered payment service providers that are legal persons to payment systems are objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate and that they do not inhibit access more than is necessary to safeguard against specific risks such as settlement risk, operational risk and business risk and to protect the financial and operational stability of the payment system. Payment systems shall not impose on payment service providers, on payment service users or on other payment systems any of the following requirements: (a) restrictive rule on effective participation in other payment systems; (b) rule which discriminates between authorised payment service providers or between registered payment service providers in relation to the rights, obligations and entitlements of participants; (c) restriction on the basis of institutional status. 2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to: (a) payment systems designated under Directive 98/26/EC; (b) payment systems composed exclusively of payment service providers belonging to a group. For the purposes of point (a) of the first subparagraph, Member States shall ensure that where a participant in a designated system allows an authorised or registered payment service provider that is not a participant in the system to pass transfer orders through the system that participant shall, when requested, give the same opportunity in an objective, proportionate and non-discriminatory manner to other authorised or registered payment service providers in line with paragraph 1. The participant shall provide the requesting payment service provider with full reasons for any rejection.