Article 37 — Prohibition of persons other than payment service providers from providing payment services and duty of notification

1.Member States shall prohibit natural or legal persons that are neither payment service providers nor explicitly excluded from the scope of this Directive from providing payment services.

2.Member States shall require that service providers carrying out either of the activities referred to in points (i) and (ii) of point (k) of Article 3 or carrying out both activities, for which the total value of payment transactions executed over the preceding 12 months exceeds the amount of EUR 1 million, send a notification to competent authorities containing a description of the services offered, specifying under which exclusion referred to in point (k)(i) and (ii) of Article 3 the activity is considered to be carried out.

On the basis of that notification, the competent authority shall take a duly motivated decision on the basis of criteria referred to in point (k) of Article 3 where the activity does not qualify as a limited network, and inform the service provider accordingly.

3.Member States shall require that service providers carrying out an activity referred to in point (l) of Article 3 send a notification to competent authorities and provide competent authorities an annual audit opinion, testifying that the activity complies with the limits set out in point (l) of Article 3.

4.Notwithstanding paragraph 1, competent authorities shall inform EBA of the services notified pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3, stating under which exclusion the activity is carried out.

5.The description of the activity notified under paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be made publicly available in the registers provided for in Articles 14 and 15.