Retail financial services such as payments, bank accounts and insurances are all part of our everyday life. The provision of these kind of services across borders is still limited. On the 10 December last year the European Commission published a green paper on retail financial services titled “Better products, more choice, and greater opportunities for consumers and businesses”. How can we make this become reality? How can we create a single market for retail financial services in Europe? What role can digitalization play in achieving this goal?

Possible discussion points:

• How can the hurdles preventing firms from providing their services across borders be lowered?
• Can financial innovation and digitalization help us overcome the current hurdles preventing financial services to be offered in another member state?
• How can consumer awareness about retail financial services available in other member states be increased?
• How can we make sure that customers have access to safe, simple and understandable financial products across the EU?
• How can we improve comparability and facilitate switching to retail financial services from other EU member states?
• What can be done to facilitate the portability of retail financial products?
• Could standardisation or opt-in regimes be a way froward?
• Which opportunities and challenges come with digitalization?
• Do new digital technologies give rise to new consumer protection risks?
• Does action need to increase the transparency and comparability of financial products offered online? How can we improve consumer trust in those products?
• How can we support firms in providing innovative digital products to consumers in other EU member states?
• What can be done to ensure that financial service providers can identify customers at a distance?

Speaker line-up:

Olivier Salles Head of Unit D3 – Retail Financial Services and Payments, DG FISMA, European Commission

Olle Ludvigsson Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur on Retail Financial Services

Sophie in ´t Veld Member of the European Parliament, Shadow Rapporteur on Retail Financial Services

Marieke van Berkel Head of Department Retail Banking, Payments, Financial Markets, EACB - European Association of Co-operative Banks

Farid Aliyev Senior Financial Services Officer, BEUC

Sue Lewis Chair, Financial Services Consumer Panel

Moderator: Willem Van de Wiele Senior Associate, Allen & Overy LLP