EU agrees on new rules for online fraud protection

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -EU member states and the European Parliament have agreed on new rules to force banks and other payment service providers to better protect their customers against online fraud, hidden fees and data leaks, the Parliament said on Thursday. The new set of rules would make payment service providers liable for covering customers' losses if they fail to implement appropriate fraud prevention mechanisms, and would force them to freeze suspicious transactions. The rules also give online platforms a responsibility to remove fraudulent ads, as platforms that fail to do so will be liable for the costs banks have made to reimburse their customers for related fraud. The legislation should give more clarity on payment charges, guarantee better access to cash in rural areas and make it easier for payment providers to receive information from banks. It would also force banks to ensure access to human customer care and not limit this to chatbots. The Parliament and member states will have to formally adopt the rules before they come into effect. (Reporting by Alessandro Parodi, editing by Bart Meijer)

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