Don't discriminate against my bank account!

In times of increased online business and online purchases Germany’s Supreme Court (BGH) delivers a decision that will have considerable consequences for online traders.

No geographic discrimination for direct debit payments

Whenever a trader accepts direct debit payments for the purchase of goods and services he may not limit this payment method to a specific geographical areas, such as by stating “only payments from a German bank account accepted”.

Instead, payments from any bank account within the SEPA-area (i.e. the EU) must be equally accepted. Traders are also not allowed to charge extra fees on payments processed from a bank account of a different EU member state.

This is because both the general principle of non-discrimination and of free movement of capitals and, more specifically, the reg. EU/260/2012 (“SEPA regulation”) - art. 9 par. 2 almost literally - require bank accounts an payments processed via such bank accounts to be treated equally throughout the EU.

Not limited to Germany

Although the mentioned decision technically only affects Germany, the underlying principle stems from European legislation and has already been, albeit indirectly, affirmed also by the ECJ in the Verein für Konsumenteninformation vs. Deutsche Bahn AG (C-28/18) case.

Therefore, it’s easy to predict that the same principle would be applied throughout the European Union, in particular since it’s echoed by the recent geoblocking reg. EU/302/2018.