European consumers have the right to make cross-border online purchases within the European Economic Area without being unjustifiably discriminated against on the basis of nationality, place of residence or place of establishment of the customer, subject to the exceptions provided for in Regulation (EU) 2018/302, European consumers are thus entitled to access the same prices and offers as local shoppers. However, prices may vary from one country to another or between different versions of the same website due to, for example, shipping costs.
There are a number of exceptions covered by the Regulation, including audiovisual services, including those whose main purpose is to provide access to sports broadcasts and which are provided on the basis of exclusive territorial licences.
In addition, the trader may also not apply different payment conditions on the basis of nationality, residence or establishment, location of the payment account, place of establishment of the payment service provider or place of issuing the payment, provided that the following conditions are met:
- That the payment is made through an electronic transaction by means of a credit transfer, direct debit or a payment instrument of the same brand and category accepted by the merchant,
- The authentication requirements are met,
- The payment is made in a currency accepted by the trader.
As for payments by direct debit, consumers have the right not to specify the Member State in which their payment account (IBAN) is located. This entails the correlative obligation of companies to accept any bank account (IBAN) and not discriminate against the payer based on whether it is a national account or one from any other country in the European Economic Area. Otherwise, the competent consumer administrations will consider this non-compliance as an irregularity that may be sanctioned based on SEPA Regulation 260/2012.
Checking your details. Before making an international transfer, bear in mind that these are irrevocable, so be sure to enter the beneficiary's account number correctly. The bank will automatically execute the transaction on the basis of the number provided, without further verification.
Identification of the recipient country. If the country to which the transfer is made is in the SEPA area, it is the same as if the transfer were made in Spain: the money will be available, at the latest, on the next working day after the funds arrive at the bank. In these cases, the costs must be shared between the sender and the beneficiary, so that the bank ordering the transfer will charge its own costs and the beneficiary's bank will charge the recipient its own costs. If the transfer is made to a country outside the SEPA area, the time taken for the funds to reach the destination account may be longer and the charges need not be shared. In addition, if a correspondent bank is involved, the bank should inform the correspondent bank of the possibility of charging its own fees.
Access to information. The bank must provide the following information to the user: Reference to identify the transaction, beneficiary information (where available), the amount in the currency used, a breakdown of all charges and fees (together with the exchange rate to be applied, if applicable), as well as the date on which the order is deemed to have been received. The messages that the user enters in the transfer order, such as the concept or beneficiary, are messages intended for the receiver of the funds, not for the institution.
Errors in the transfer. In the event that the transfer is not executed or is made incorrectly, if the error is the user's error, the bank must make reasonable efforts to recover the money. If the bank is responsible for the error, it will be understood that the user has not authorised the transaction, which could be reversed without the consent of the beneficiary.
The Single Euro Payments Area or Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) by its acronym in English, was created in order to make it possible to issue and receive payments anywhere in the euro zone. The objective is to develop common instruments, standards, procedures and infrastructures for cross-border payments in euros within the eurozone so that banks do not charge consumers more than they would in their country for an equivalent transaction.
Yes. The rules will apply to cross-border online transactions of products or services in the European Union whether traders are established in a Member State or in a third country and target European consumers. To ensure proper functioning, each Member State has bodies responsible for the proper and effective enforcement of these rules and, in the event of infringements, will take effective, proportionate and dissuasive measures to be imposed. In addition, there are bodies responsible for providing practical assistance to consumers in the event of a dispute between a consumer and a trader. You can consult here the bodies accredited by the European Union for online dispute resolution.