NBS: New payment services law to bring improvements

BELGRADE - The new payment services law will bring significant improvements, creating a legal basis for boosting competition in the payment services market, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) has said in a statement.

The law, adopted by the parliament on December 16, establishes a legal basis for setting up and operation of electronic money institutions, as well as payment institutions.

It is the first-ever law to allow for and regulate all types of payment services, including leading-edge ones. It also introduces electronic money and regulates its issuance, the central bank said.

The law stipulates that all payment service providers must conduct each dinar payment transaction in the country on the same business day.

It precisely defines the information that payment service providers must provide to payment service users.

In case of a dispute between a payment service user and a service provider, the burden of proof rests with the provider, who must prove that he had provided the user with all the information required by the law and that that the transaction had been carried out pursuant to the user's request.

It contains the presumption of responsibility of the payment service provider for losses caused by abuse of payment instruments unless the payment service user is proven guilty (for any damage exceeding RSD 15,000).

The law also regulates payment systems, which represent the part of the financial structures that makes it possible for payment service providers to team up for the purpose of carrying out timely payment transactions for their clients.

It also expands and boosts supervision - the NBS will supervise all payment service providers and issuers of electronic money in the segment of...