Reinhard Steennot

Legal aspects of credit transfers and electronic payments: a Belgian perspective

WP 2008-12

This paper will discuss several legal issues regarding credit transfers and the electronic payment instruments most often used in Belgium, i.e. debit cards and credit cards. More specifically the following questions will be addressed: who is liable in case of late or erroneous execution of a payment transaction, who bears the risk in case of fraud, when does payment take place and is it possible to revoke a payment transaction, once it has been initiated? In answering these questions we will not only take into account the Belgian legislation as it exists today, but we will also refer to the European Directive on Payment Services in the Internal Market which has to be transposed by 1 November 2009 and that will change the Belgian legislation considerably on a few points.