EN ECB -PUBLIC  
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK  
of 27 October  2017  
on payment services 
(CON/2017/44)  
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 23 August 2017, the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Cypriot Minister for 
Finance for an opinion on thre e draft laws entitled (1) “The Provision and Use of Payment Services and 
Access to the Payment Systems Law of 2017”  (hereinafter, the ‘draft payment services law’) , (2) “The 
Electronic Money (Amending) Law of 2017” and (3) “The Business of Credit Institutions (Amending)(No.3) 
Law of 2017” ( together with the draft payment services law , hereinafter collectively referred to as the ‘draft 
laws’).  
The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union and the third indent of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC1, as 
certain provisions of the draft laws relate to the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) . In accordance with the 
first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing 
Council has adopted this opinion.   
 
1. Purpose of the draft laws  
1.1. As stated in the explanatory note, the main aim of the draft laws is to harmoni se Cypr iot legislation 
with Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council2.  
1.2. The draft payment services law contains a provision3 providing that no director , officer or employee 
of the CBC will bear any liability in the event that legal proceedings are initiated for compensation 
in connection with an act or omission committed during the exercise of powers under the draft 
payment services  law, unless it is proven that the act or omission was committed in bad faith or as 
a result of gross negligence . 
1.3. The draft payment services law removes the current duty of the CBC of  organis ing and handl ing 
out-of-court dispute resolution processes.  
 
                                                 
1  Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national 
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42).  
2   Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council  of 25 November 2015 on payment services 
in the internal market amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation 
(EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC  (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35) . 
3   Article 108 of the draft payment ser vices law.  
ECB -PUBLIC  
2 2. General observations  
2.1. This opinion does not address whether the draft laws effectively implement Directive 
(EU) 2015/2366 into Cypriot law. The focus of this opinion is on those provisions that may impact 
on the roles and tasks of the CBC as a central bank and as a member of the European System of 
Central Banks (ESCB).  
2.2. The ECB notes that the draft laws do not confer any new tasks on the CBC by comparison to the 
Payment Service s Law of 20094 currently in force in relation to payment service providers.  
2.3. The ECB recalls the principle of financial independence,  which requires that the Member States 
must not put the national central banks  in a position where they have insufficient financial 
resources to carry out their E SCB or Eurosystem -related tasks.  
 
3. Specific observations  
3.1. The ECB notes that there is a change in the approach as regards  the CBC’s potential liability for 
damages caused in the course of the exercise of supervisory powers over payment service 
providers. In the  Payment Service s Law of 20095, which is currently  in force,  the limitation of 
liability is extended to any supervisory authority , and not only to directors, officers and employees 
of the supervisory authority . As noted in previous opinions, the Cypriot authorities should consider 
align ing the CBC’s liability under the draft law with its liability concerning its supervision of credit 
institutions, given that potential liability issues could represent substantial financial risks for the 
CBC6. 
3.2. The ECB notes that the draft payment services law removes the CBC’s current duty of organis ing 
and handl ing out-of-court dispute resolution processes.  This task is not related to the tasks 
conferred upon the ECB and national central banks in the ESCB  by the Treaty and the Statute of 
the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank . 
 
This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.  
 
 
Done at Frankfurt am Main, 27 October  2017.  
 
[signed]  
 
The President of the ECB  
Mario DRAGHI  
                                                 
4   Law 128(I)/2009.  
5  Law 128(I)/2009.  
6  See, for example, paragraphs  2.3.6 and 2.3.8 of Opinion CON/2017/3, paragraph 3.4.7 of Opinion CON/2016/5, 
paragraph 3.1.7 of Opinion CON/2015/45 and paragraph 3.1.7 of Opinion CON/2015/37.