In the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I no. 191 of March 11, 2019 was published the Law no. 44/2019 on implementing measures for Regulation (EU) 2015/751 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions. Law no. 44/2019 comes into force on 14 March 2019.
The law establishes the necessary measures for the national implementation of Regulation (EU) 2015/751 on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions as regards the designation of the competent authority, the determination of the applicable sanctions for non-compliance with the provisions of this Regulation and the establishment out-of-court settlement of disputes between payees and payment service providers in connection with the violation of the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2015/751 on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions.
In applying the provisions of art. 13 of Regulation (EU) 2015/751, the National Bank of Romania shall be designated as the competent authority responsible for ensuring compliance by the legal entities (eg. payment service providers, payment beneficiaries) of the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2015/751, except for the provisions of art. 8 para. (2) and (6) and art. 10 (1), (2), (4) and (5) of Regulation (EU) 2015/751 for which the National Authority for Consumer Protection is the national authority responsible for overseeing compliance with the relationship between payment service providers and consumers, according to the provisions of art. 2 par. (1) of the Government Decision no. 677/2016 regarding measures for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2015/751 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 on interchange fees for card payment transactions.
As a competent authority, the National Bank of Romania monitors compliance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2015/751, counteracts attempts by payment service providers to circumvent the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2015/751 and has all the necessary measures to allocate the appropriate resources to fulfill its responsibilities.
Out-of-court settlement of disputes between payees and payment service providers in relation to rights and obligations arising from Regulation (EU) 2015/751 shall observe the provisions of Law no. 192/2006 regarding the mediation and organization of the mediator profession in Romania. These provisions are without prejudice to the right of the person concerned to file legal action in relation to the rights and obligations arising from Regulation (EU) 2015/751 or to resort to other out-of-court settlement mechanisms, including those provided for by Government Ordinance no.38/2015 on alternative dispute resolution between consumers and undertakings.