Article 30 — General obligations for access interfaces

1.Account servicing payment service providers that offer to a payer a payment account that is accessible online shall have in place at least one interface which meets each of the following requirements:

2.For the purposes of authentication of the payment service user, the interface referred to in paragraph 1 shall allow account information service providers and payment initiation service providers to rely on all the authentication procedures provided by the account servicing payment service provider to the payment service user.

The interface shall at least meet all of the following requirements:

3.Account servicing payment service providers shall ensure that their interfaces follow standards of communication which are issued by international or European standardisation organisations.

Account servicing payment service providers shall also ensure that the technical specification of any of the interfaces is documented specifying a set of routines, protocols, and tools needed by payment initiation service providers, account information service providers and payment service providers issuing card-based payment instruments for allowing their software and applications to interoperate with the systems of the account servicing payment service providers.

Account servicing payment service providers shall at a minimum, and no less than 6 months before the application date referred to in Article 38(2), or before the target date for the market launch of the access interface when the launch takes place after the date referred to in Article 38(2), make the documentation available, at no charge, upon request by authorised payment initiation service providers, account information service providers and payment service providers issuing card-based payment instruments or payment service providers that have applied to their competent authorities for the relevant authorisation, and shall make a summary of the documentation publicly available on their website.

4.In addition to paragraph 3, account servicing payment service providers shall ensure that, except for emergency situations, any change to the technical specification of their interface is made available to authorised payment initiation service providers, account information service providers and payment service providers issuing card-based payment instruments, or payment service providers that have applied to their competent authorities for the relevant authorisation, in advance as soon as possible and not less than 3 months before the change is implemented.

Payment service providers shall document emergency situations where changes were implemented and make the documentation available to competent authorities on request.

5.Account servicing payment service providers shall make available a testing facility, including support, for connection and functional testing to enable authorised payment initiation service providers, payment service providers issuing card-based payment instruments and account information service providers, or payment service providers that have applied for the relevant authorisation, to test their software and applications used for offering a payment service to users. This testing facility should be made available no later than 6 months before the application date referred to in Article 38(2) or before the target date for the market launch of the access interface when the launch takes place after the date referred to in Article 38(2).

However, no sensitive information shall be shared through the testing facility.

6.Competent authorities shall ensure that account servicing payment service providers comply at all times with the obligations included in these standards in relation to the interface(s) that they put in place. In the event that an account servicing payment services provider fails to comply with the requirements for interfaces laid down in these standards, competent authorities shall ensure that the provision of payment initiation services and account information services is not prevented or disrupted to the extent that the respective providers of such services comply with the conditions defined under Article 33(5).