New payment services

Payment accounts, cards, direct debits and transfers are payment services all of us have used at some point, but there are many more.

Ongoing technological changes are, on the one hand, enabling us to access new payment services and, on the other, allowing new agents to begin providing them.

Regulations have also had to change in order to improve our security and level of protection, and to promote innovation in payment services.

Royal Decree-Law 19/2018Abre en ventana nueva regulates for the first time two new payment services: payment initiation and account information services, both of which involve the access of third parties to our accounts.

• A payment initiation service allows you to initiate a payment order, that is, pay for a product instantly without needing to have your card at hand. It also allows the merchant to deliver the product without delay since there is certainty that the payment has been initiated.
  
  The provider of this service connects to your online banking and, by means of a PIN, makes a transfer instantaneously. In order for it to work, your bank must have an agreement with the service provider.
• An account information service allows you to consult information you may have in your name at one or more banks in an aggregate manner, without having to access each one.
  
  The service provider helps you have complete and immediate information at all times about your financial position. If you have more than one bank account, this can help you control your income and expenses better.