PSD3 and PSR: the deal is done, now the clock is running for merchants
After the trilogue agreement of 5 May 2026, formal adoption is expected in the summer or autumn. The PSR regulation will then apply around 21 months after publication, and the PSD3 directive must be transposed within 24 months. What changes for merchants.
What happened
The Council and the European Parliament reached final agreement on the texts of the third Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and the Payment Services Regulation (PSR) on 5 May 2026, after a provisional political agreement had already been reached on 27 November 2025 and the compromise texts had been published on 23 April 2026. Formal adoption and publication in the Official Journal are expected between summer and autumn 2026. As a regulation, the PSR applies directly, probably around 21 months after publication, so in 2028. PSD3 must be transposed into national law by the member states within 24 months.
Who it affects
Directly: banks, payment institutions, acquirers and payment network operators (Netzbetreiber). Indirectly: every merchant, because liability, transparency obligations and authentication feed through into costs and checkout.
Assessment
For merchants there are four things in the package. First, the extended fraud liability of payment service providers, particularly for fraud schemes that rely on deceiving the customer. That sounds like consumer protection, but it gets priced in: whoever is liable calculates the risk into the fee. Second, the IBAN name check for all credit transfers, which has already applied to instant payments since October 2025 and is now becoming the standard. Third, stricter transparency obligations on card providers towards merchants regarding the actual transaction fees. Fourth, a more uniform framework for account data access, the basis for paying directly from the account as an alternative to the card.
The third point is the one I like seeing most. The 2015 Interchange Regulation already required fees to be unbundled, yet in practice most merchants still get a flat rate with no breakdown. If the PSR sharpens disclosure, it will become visible how much of it is interchange, scheme fee and margin.
What to do now
- No panic and no knee-jerk action, the rules apply from 2028 at the earliest.
- Demand an itemised statement by card type from your provider now; the right to it has existed since 2015.
- For online shops, reduce dependence on a single authentication route; the rules on strong customer authentication are being adjusted.