On 17 April 2019, the EU legislator adopted Directive 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (the “Accessibility Act”) to establish common accessibility requirements for certain key products and services across the EEA. The aim of that directive is to improve access for persons with disabilities by addressing inconsistencies in national accessibility rules.
The Act applies to a range of products and services that have been identified as being most important for persons with disabilities while being most likely to have diverging accessibility requirements across EU countries. Those include – but not limited to – e-commerce, transportation services, smartphones, and some financial services and products (as further described below).
Under the Accessibility Act, economic operators must ensure that these products and services comply with accessibility requirements based on the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. For the purposes of this Article, our focus will be limited to the rules applicable to financial-related products and services.
Scope of application
The Directive applies to the following financial services and products placed on the market after 28 June 2025:
– Financial products: self-service terminals, such as payment terminals, automated teller machines (ATMs), and ticketing machines.
– Financial services:
- Consumer banking services, including provision of consumer (CCD) and mortgage credit (Mortgage Credit Directive), investment services (MiFID II), payment services (PSD2), services linked to payment accounts (Payment Accounts Directive) and services related to e-money (EMD2).
- E-commerce services, namely services provided at a distance, through websites and mobile device-based services by electronic means and at the request of a consumer with a view to concluding a consumer contract. Those may include other financial services such as insurance intermediation or BNPL services.
Entities in scope
The Accessibility Act applies to all economic operators within the European Union, whether or not they are established in the EU, and distinguishes between different roles:
- Manufacturers
- Importers
- Distributors
- Service providers
Ensure compliance with accessibility requirements
Economic operators may only place products on the market and provide services that comply with the accessibility requirements outlined in Annex I of the directive.
These requirements ensure that products are designed and produced to maximise their foreseeable use by people with disabilities. Where possible, products must be accompanied by accessible information regarding their functionality and accessibility features, either on or within the product.
Annex I includes the following key criteria:
- Multi-sensory information: Instructions and information on the use of a product must be made available through more than one sensory channel (e.g. visual and auditory), presented in an understandable and perceivable way for users.
- Accessible product design: Products, including their user interfaces, must incorporate features, elements, and functions that enable persons with disabilities to access, perceive, operate, understand, and control them.
- Accessible support services: Where applicable, support services such as help desks, call centers, technical support, relay services, and training services must provide information on the product’s accessibility and compatibility with assistive technologies, using accessible communication methods.
Obligations with regard to products
As previously noted, different rules apply to economic operators depending on whether they place products on the market or provide services.
Economic operators involved in placing products on the market must comply with the following obligations:
- Manufacturers must (i) generally ensure that their products comply with accessibility requirements, and (ii) provide clear documentation, markings, and user information.
- Importers must ensure only compliant, CE-marked products (indicating the conformity of a product with the accessibility requirements) with proper documentation and labelling are placed on the market.
- Distributors must verify CE marking, documentation, and proper instructions before making products available, and ensure storage conditions preserve compliance.
Obligations with regard to services
Service providers must design and deliver services that meet accessibility requirements, maintain public information on compliance, and ensure ongoing conformity.
Exemptions
The accessibility requirements must not be implemented in two situations:
- Where ensuring compliance would result in the fundamental alteration of the basic nature of the service or product offered; and
- Where compliance would result in the imposition of a disproportionate burden on the economic operators concerned.
Economic operators are responsible for assessing whether compliance would fundamentally alter their service or impose a disproportionate burden. They must document the results of this assessment, retain them for five years, and provide them to the competent authority upon request. In cases of disproportionate burden, the assessment must consider specific criteria, such as the ratio of compliance costs to the operator’s net turnover.
Transitional period
Service providers may, for the provision of their services, continue using products already on the market until 28 June 2030.
Services contracted before 28 June 2025 may continue without alteration until the expiration of the service agreement concerned, but for no longer than five years as from 28 June 2025.
Self-service terminals (including ATMs and payment terminals) lawfully used by service providers before 28 June 2025 may continue to be used until the end of their economically useful life, but no longer than 20 years after their entry into use.
Delegated acts
Should it deem it necessary, the European Commission may adopt delegated acts to clarify certain aspects of the directive, for example to add new accessibility requirements or to refine the criteria for the disproportionate burden exemption.
Transposition in Belgium
Due to the division of competences on accessibility across federal, regional, and community levels in Belgium, the Accessibility Act has been transposed through multiple legislative instruments.
For financial products and services, two key laws have been identified:
- Law of 5 November 2023 amending several books of the Code of Economic Law and the Law of 2 August 2002 to partially transpose Directive (EU) 2019/882. It will enter into force on 28 June 2025.
- Law of 20 July 2023 partially transposing Directive (EU) 2019/882 concerning accessibility requirements for products and services in the field of electronic communications. It will enter into force on 28 June 2025 as well.
Belgium chose a straightforward transposition of the Directive, deliberately avoiding any form of gold plating. The only notable difference is that microenterprises benefit from a full exemption extended until 2035 under Belgian law, instead of 2030 as provided by the directive.
For financial services, the Federal Public Service (FPS) Economy is the competent authority responsible for enforcing the national legislation transposing the Accessibility Act.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the potential impact of the Accessibility Act on your activity, feel free to reach out to us at digitalfinance@simontbraun.eu.
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This newsletter does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion. Please consult with a legal counsel of your choice before taking any action based on the information provided.
