GUIDELINE (EU) 2021/832 OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 26 March 2021

on reporting requirements on payments statistics (ECB/2021/13)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 127(2) thereof,

Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular Articles 5.1, 12.1 and 14.3 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The European Central Bank (ECB) requires the collection and reporting of statistical information on payments and on payment systems in order to fulfil its tasks under the Treaty to promote the smooth operation of payment systems in the Union and the smooth conduct of policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions and the stability of the financial system.

(2) In order for the ECB to effectively identify and monitor developments in the payments systems and payments markets within Member States and monitor their degree of integration, the statistical information reported to the ECB should be both Member State-specific and comparative. It is also necessary to lay down common rules for treatment and reporting of that information.

(3) It is important to ensure that those rules do not impose an unreasonable reporting burden on national central banks (NCBs). NCBs should therefore report statistical information to the ECB using the statistical information collected pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2013/43) (1) and with the same frequency as provided for under that Regulation. NCBs should also be required to report statistical information available to them at a national level.

(4) The definitions in Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43) are also relevant for the purposes of reporting pursuant to this Guideline and should therefore apply.

(5) With the aim of ensuring that the payments statistics reported to the ECB are representative of the entire reporting population, common rules should be set for grossing up where reporting agents have been granted derogations from certain reporting requirements in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43).

(6) The ECB maintains the Register of Institutions and Affiliates Data (hereinafter ‘RIAD’), a central repository of reference data on institutional units relevant for statistical purposes. A list of payments statistics relevant institutions (hereinafter ‘PSRI’) is stored in RIAD in accordance with Guideline (EU) 2018/876 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2018/16) (2). It is appropriate to obtain statistical information on PSRI directly from RIAD.

(7) In order for the ECB to perform its tasks, it is appropriate to provide that NCBs report the required information by a specified date.

(8) Article 5 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, together with Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union, implies that non-euro area Member States which plan to adopt the euro should design and implement measures for the collection of the statistical information needed to fulfil the ECB’s statistical reporting requirements in preparation for such adoption of the euro. Accordingly, the application of this Guideline may be extended to apply to the NCBs of non-euro area Member States for a defined reference period. In addition, for the purposes of enabling the ECB to obtain a comprehensive overview of the statistical information collected and to carry out relevant analysis, the NCBs of non-euro area Member States that adopt the euro should be required to provide the ECB with statistical information covering a specified period prior to their adoption of the euro.

(9) In order to ensure the accuracy and quality of the statistical information collected by the ECB, it is necessary for the ECB to provide for rules on the monitoring, verification and, where appropriate, the revision of statistical information reported by NCBs. For the same reasons, NCBs should provide explanations to the ECB, whenever necessary and upon request by the ECB, on the statistical information reported, particularly with regard to any deviations from the reporting requirements which may impact that statistical information or its quality.

(10) It is appropriate to provide for a common method of transmission of statistical information reported to the ECB for all NCBs. Accordingly, a harmonised electronic transmission format should be agreed and specified by the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).

(11) It is necessary to set up a procedure to carry out technical amendments to the Annex to this Guideline in an effective manner, provided that such amendments neither change the underlying conceptual framework nor increase the reporting burden. Account should be taken of the views of the Statistics Committee of the ESCB when following this procedure. Such technical amendments to the Annex to this Guideline should be proposed through the Statistics Committee.

(12) It is necessary to provide for a transitional provision for reporting to the ECB of statistical information for the reference period 2021 in order to ensure that there is no break in the reporting of statistical information.

(13) For reasons of legal certainty, NCBs should comply with this Guideline from the same date as referred to in Article 2 of Guideline (EU) 2021/835 ECB/2021/16 of the European Central Bank (3),

HAS ADOPTED THIS GUIDELINE:

Article 1

Subject matter

This Guideline establishes the reporting requirements for NCBs on payments statistics to be reported to the ECB. In particular, this Guideline specifies the statistical information to be reported to the ECB, the treatment of that statistical information, as well as the frequency and timing of that reporting and the standards to be applied to that reporting.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Guideline, the following definitions apply:

(a) the definitions in Article 1 of Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43), where relevant;

(b) the definitions in Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43), where relevant.

The following definition also applies:

‘statistical information’ means ‘statistical information’ as defined in Article 1(11) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 (4).

Article 3

Statistical information to be reported on payments statistics

1. NCBs shall report to the ECB the statistical information set out in Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43) on an aggregated basis at national level.

2. NCBs shall report to the ECB the statistical information set out in the Annex to this Guideline on an aggregated basis at national level.

3. For the purposes of paragraph 1, where NCBs grant derogations to reporting agents in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43), NCBs shall gross up to 100 % coverage ensuring that the required statistical information referred to in Article 3(1) of that Regulation is reported.

4. Where the statistical information referred to in paragraph 2 is not available or cannot be reported by NCBs, NCBs shall:

(a) request additional information from reporting agents; or

(b) use provisional data; or

For the purposes of this paragraph, NCBs shall provide explanations to the ECB justifying the approach used.

Article 4

Timeliness

1. NCBs shall report the statistical information referred to in Article 3(1) of this Guideline in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43).

2. NCBs shall report the statistical information referred to in Article 3(2) on a semi-annual basis as specified in the relevant table of the Annex to this Guideline and as follows:

(a) for reporting on a semi-annual basis of the statistical information relating to the period January to June, by close of business on the last working day of November following the end of the first half of the year to which it relates;

(b) for reporting on a semi-annual basis of the statistical information relating to the period July to December, by close of business on the last working day of May following the end of the second half of the year to which it relates;

3. By the end of September each year, the ECB shall communicate the exact transmission dates to NCBs in the form of a reporting calendar for the following year.

Article 5

Back data reporting requirements in the event of adoption of the euro

1. Where a Member State whose currency is not the euro (hereinafter the ‘non-euro area Member States’) adopts the euro following the entry into force of this Guideline, the NCB of that Member State shall report to the ECB the statistical information on payments statistics for five years prior to the Member State’s adoption of the euro and only since the accession to the Union of that Member State.

2. NCBs shall compile the statistical information referred to in paragraph 1 as if the Member State was part of the euro area throughout all reference periods. For this purpose, NCBs may use statistical information reported to the ECB before the Member State’s adoption of the euro in accordance with the reporting schemes adapted by the ECB for non-euro area Member States. NCBs shall report statistical information in accordance with the requirements and templates which were applicable to euro area Member States in the respective reference periods unless the ECB and NCB agree, with due consideration of the NCB’s reporting burden, to exclude some statistical information.

Article 6

Verification

1. Without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 and Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43), NCBs shall monitor and ensure the quality and reliability of the statistical information reported to the ECB pursuant to Article 3. In particular, NCBs shall verify both of the following:

(a) that the information reported pursuant to this Guideline satisfies the validation rules provided and maintained by the ECB;

(b) the consistency between the quarterly and semi-annual statistical information reported pursuant to Article 3.

2. Where NCBs identify any discrepancies pursuant to the verifications conducted in accordance with this Article, they shall provide the ECB with the results of the verifications without undue delay.

Article 7

Revisions

1. Where necessary, NCBs shall revise the statistical information reported pursuant to Article 3 referring to the previous reporting reference period while ensuring the consistency between the statistical information reported with different frequencies, including where such consistency requires revisions to other reporting reference periods (ordinary revisions). NCBs shall report any ordinary revisions during regular reporting.

2. Where necessary, NCBs shall revise statistical information reported pursuant to Article 3 which are not ordinary revisions (exceptional revisions) at any time with prior approval by the ECB and shall provide explanations when reporting such revisions.

Article 8

Explanatory notes

Where necessary, NCBs shall provide explanations to the ECB on deviations from the reporting requirements due to national specificities and structural breaks in detail, including the impact on that statistical information. NCBs shall also provide such explanations upon request by the ECB.

Article 9

Transmission

1. NCBs shall transmit the statistical information to be reported pursuant to this Guideline electronically, using the means specified by the ECB. The statistical message format developed for this electronic exchange of statistical information shall be the format agreed by the ESCB.

2. Where paragraph 1 does not apply, NCBs may use other means of transmitting statistical information with the ECB’s prior consent.

Article 10

Simplified amendment procedure

Taking account of the views of the Statistics Committee, the ECB’s Executive Board shall make any necessary technical amendments to the Annex to this Guideline provided that such amendments neither change the underlying conceptual framework nor affect the reporting burden on reporting agents in Member States. The Executive Board shall inform the Governing Council of any such amendment without undue delay.

Article 11

First reporting

1. First reporting for quarterly statistical information to be reported pursuant to this Guideline shall begin with statistical information for the first quarter of 2022.

2. First reporting for semi-annual statistical information with a quarterly breakdown to be reported pursuant to this Guideline shall begin with statistical information for the first and second quarter of 2022.

3. First reporting for semi-annual statistical information to be reported pursuant to this Guideline shall begin with statistical information for the first half year of 2022.

4. First reporting for annual statistical information with a half-yearly breakdown to be reported pursuant to this Guideline shall begin with statistical information for the first and second half year of 2022.

Article 12

Transitional provision

For the reference period 2021, NCBs shall report to the ECB the following:

(a) the annual statistical information as set out in Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 as applicable on 31 December 2021;

(b) the annual statistical information as set out in Article 18 of Guideline ECB/2014/15 and Part 16 of Annex II to that Guideline as applicable on 31 December 2021.

Article 13

Taking effect

1. This Guideline shall take effect on the day of its notification to the national central banks of the Member States whose currency is the euro.

2. The national central banks of the Member States whose currency is the euro and the ECB shall comply with this Guideline from 1 February 2022.

Article 14

Addressees

This Guideline is addressed to all Eurosystem central banks.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 26 March 2021.

For the Governing Council of the ECB

The President of the ECB

Christine LAGARDE

(1) Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 of the European Central Bank of 28 November 2013 on payments statistics (ECB/2013/43) (

OJ L 352, 24.12.2013, p. 18

(2) Guideline (EU) 2018/876 of the European Central Bank of 1 June 2018 on the Register of Institutions and Affiliates Data (ECB/2018/16) (

OJ L 154, 18.6.2018, p. 3

(3) Guideline (EU) 2021/835 of the European Central Bank of 26 March 2021 repealing Guideline ECB/2014/15 on monetary and financial statistics (ECB/2021/16) (see page 335 of this Official Journal).

(4) Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (

OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8

ANNEX

Cells highlighted in grey represent the reporting requirements. For those indicators for which a definition is not provided in the Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43), a definition is included below the relevant table of this Annex. Statistical information to be reported under Article 3 of this Guideline should be reported irrespective of the actual existence of the underlying phenomenon and even when they are zero. ‘-’ with an observation status M is used to indicate that the phenomenon does not exist.

Table A is reported on a semi-annual basis and where indicated, with a quarterly breakdown. Table A complements Table 1 of Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43). Statistical information on the intraday borrowing in euro from the central bank refers to the ‘average for the last reserve maintenance period’. Other stock data reported in Table A refers to end-of-period figures.

Table A

Institutions offering payment services to non-MFIs

(end of period, number in actual units, value in EUR millions, Geo 0)
	Number	Value
Central bank
Number of offices
Number of overnight deposits

Credit institutions
Settlement media used by credit institutions
Overnight deposits in euro held at other credit institutions (quarterly)
Intraday borrowing in euro from the central bank (average for last reserve maintenance period)
Credit institutions legally incorporated in the reporting country
Number of offices
Value of overnight deposits held by non-MFIs (quarterly)
Branches of euro area-based credit institutions
Number of offices
Value of overnight deposits held by non-MFIs (quarterly)
Branches of EEA-based credit institutions outside the euro area
Number of offices
Value of overnight deposits held by non-MFIs (quarterly)
Branches of non-EEA-based credit institutions
Number of offices
Value of overnight deposits held by non-MFIs (quarterly)

Electronic money institutions
Number of institutions
Outstanding value on e-money storages
Of which:
issued by electronic money institutions that are MFIs

Payment institutions
Number of institutions
Of which:
PISP
AISP
Number of offices

Other PSPs and e-money issuers
Number of institutions
Number of offices
Number of overnight deposits held by non-MFIs
Value of overnight deposits held by non-MFIs (quarterly)

Total number of payment institutions operating in the country on a cross-border basis
Of which:
Number of payment institutions providing services through an established branch
Number of payment institutions providing services through an agent
Number of payment institutions providing services neither establishing a branch nor through an agent

Number of offices

- number of places of business in the reporting country. Each place of business set up in the same reporting country is counted separately. Only those offices (regardless of their size and operating hours) that provide payment services with cashless clearing and settlement are included, while mobile offices are not included. The head office of the institution is counted as an office if it offers payment services with cashless clearing and settlement.

Settlement media used by credit institutions

- assets or claims on assets that can be used by credit institutions for payments.

Intraday borrowing in euro from the central bank (average for last reserve maintenance period)

- total value of credit extended by the central bank to credit institutions and reimbursed within a period of less than one business day. This is the average of the daily maximum value of simultaneous and actual intraday overdraft positions or drawings on intraday credit facilities during the day for all credit institutions taken together. All days in the maintenance period, including weekends and bank holidays, are considered in the average.

Branch of a euro area-based credit institution

- a branch (located in the reporting country) of a credit institution legally incorporated outside the reporting country but within the euro area.

Branch of a non-EEA-based credit institution

- a branch (located in the reporting country) of a credit institution legally incorporated in a non-EEA-based country outside the reporting country and outside the EEA.

Branch of an EEA-based credit institution (outside the euro area)

- a branch (located in the reporting country) of a credit institution legally incorporated in an EEA country outside the reporting country and outside the euro area.

Outstanding value on e-money storages issued by electronic money institutions that are MFIs

- value of electronic money issued by electronic money institutions whose principal activity is financial intermediation in the form of issuing electronic money, and which are therefore included in the MFI sector.

Payment institutions operating in the country on a cross-border basis -

payment institutions located outside the reporting country but operating in the reporting country through an established branch, an agent or by remote access.

Table B is reported on a semi-annual basis. Table B complements Table 7 of Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43). The number of participants refers to end-of-period figures.

Table B

Participation in selected payment systems: TARGET2

(end of period, original units, Geo 1)
	Number
TARGET2 component system
Number of participants
Direct participants
Credit institutions
Central bank
Other direct participants
General Government
Clearing and settlement organisations
Other financial institutions
Others
Indirect participants

Target2 component system

- ‘TARGET2 Component system’ as defined in Article 2(2) of Guideline ECB/2012/27 of the European Central Bank (1).

Table C is reported on a semi-annual basis. Table C complements Table 8 of Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43). Payment transactions are reported as gross flows, i.e. totals, for the period. The information is reported with a Geo0, Geo1 or Geo2 breakdown, as indicated in the table.

Table C

Payments processed by selected payment systems: TARGET2

(total for the period; number of transactions in millions; value of transactions in EUR millions)
	Sent
	Number	Value
TARGET2 component system
Credit transfers and direct debits	Geo 1	Geo 1
Within the same TARGET2 component system	Geo 0	Geo 0
To another TARGET2 component system	Geo 2	Geo 2
To a euro area TARGET2 component system	Geo 2	Geo 2
To a non-euro area TARGET2 component system	Geo 2	Geo 2
Of which
TIPS	Geo 1	Geo 1

Concentration ratio	Geo 1	Geo 1

For TARGET2 the definition of ‘cross border’ is based on the location of the component and not of the participant, as is the case for the other payment systems.

TIPS

- ‘TARGET instant payment settlement’ service as defined in Article 1 of Annex II to Guideline ECB/2012/27.

Table D is reported on a semi-annual basis and with a Geo3 breakdown unless otherwise indicated. Payment transactions are reported as gross flows, i.e. totals, for the period.

Table D

Activities of PSPs per type of payment service

(total for the period; number of transactions in millions; value of transactions in EUR millions, Geo 3)
	Sent
	Number	Value
Credit transfers
Credit institutions
E-money institutions
Post office giro institutions
Payment institutions
Public authorities: i) ECB and NCBs and ii) Member States or local authorities

Direct debits
Credit institutions
E-money institutions
Post office giro institutions
Payment institutions
Public authorities: i) ECB and NCBs and ii) Member States or local authorities

Card-based payment transactions (except cards with an e-money function only) (2)
Credit institutions
E-money institutions
Post office giro institutions
Payment institutions
Public authorities: i) ECB and NCBs and ii) Member States or local authorities

E-money payment transactions with e-money issued by resident PSPs
With cards on which e-money can be stored directly
Credit institutions
E-money institutions
Post office giro institutions
Payment institutions
Public authorities: i) ECB and NCBs and ii) Member States or local authorities
With e-money accounts (transactions initiated through a card)
Credit institutions
E-money institutions
Post office giro institutions
Payment institutions
Public authorities: i) ECB and NCBs and ii) Member States or local authorities
With e-money accounts (account-to-account transactions)
Credit institutions
E-money institutions
Post office giro institutions
Payment institutions
Public authorities: i) ECB and NCBs and ii) Member States or local authorities

OTC cash deposits (3)
Credit institutions	Geo 1	Geo 1
E-money institutions	Geo 1	Geo 1
Post office giro institutions	Geo 1	Geo 1
Payment institutions	Geo 1	Geo 1
Public authorities: i) ECB and NCBs and ii) Member States or local authorities	Geo 1	Geo 1

OTC cash withdrawals
Credit institutions	Geo 1	Geo 1
E-money institutions	Geo 1	Geo 1
Post office giro institutions	Geo 1	Geo 1
Payment institutions	Geo 1	Geo 1
Public authorities: i) ECB and NCBs and ii) Member States or local authorities	Geo 1	Geo 1

Money remittance
Credit institutions
E-money institutions
Post office giro institutions
Payment institutions
Public authorities: i) ECB and NCBs and ii) Member States or local authorities

The required geographical breakdown applies the classifications used in Regulation (EU) No 1409/2013 (ECB/2013/43) while also including the geographical breakdown “Geo 2” which refers to cross-border transactions only. The geographical breakdowns are:

Geographical breakdowns

Geo 0

Geo 1

Geo 2

Geo 3

Domestic

Domestic and cross-border combined

Cross-border

Domestic

Single country breakdowns for each EEA member

Cross-border outside the EEA

(1) Guideline ECB/2012/27 of the European Central Bank of 5 December 2012 on a Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross settlement Express Transfer system (TARGET2) (

OJ L 30, 30.1.2013, p. 1

(2) For cross-border card-based payment transactions the residency of the counterpart and the location of the point of sale should be reported together.

(3) OTC cash deposits fall under the category of received transactions as funds are credited to the payment service user’s account. Even though Table D includes information on sent payment transactions, OTC cash deposits should be included in the reporting.