The European Commission is to revisit the E-Money Directive to address recent developments in mobile telephony and Internet payment schemes.
The E-Money Directive was conceived and adopted at the height of the e-commerce boom, and was intended to address the activities of non-banks involved in digital cash issuance.
Recent advances in technology and the development of new business models, such as payments by mobile phones, transit cards and Internet payments, has prompted the Commission to re-assess whether the legal framework is still in tune with modern market developments.
Internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy says: "I am personally committed to ensuring that the Directives we adopt fulfil their objectives and improve the functioning of the single market. Should the evidence prove that this is not the case, we will not hesitate to take decisive action."
The consultation is a follow-up to an earlier study on e-money and mobile operators which was finalised earlier this year. The findings from this exercise will be fed into the wider-ranging e-money review, which will also involve consultations with member states as well as the commissioning of an independent study to be carried out by consultants.
A report containing recommendations will be published by Spring 2006.