Access to Technical Infrastructure Services in the Provision of Payment Services or the Carrying-on of the E-Money Business

(1) An undertaking that, through technical infrastructure services, contributes to the provision of payment services or the carrying-on of the e-money business in Germany (systems undertaking) is required, on the request of a payment service provider within the meaning of section 1(1), first sentence, nos. 1 to 3, or of an e-money issuer within the meaning of section 1(2), first sentence, no. 1 or 2, to make those technical infrastructure services available without delay, for a fee not exceeding the actual costs of the relevant access, and using a standardised technical interface, to all terminal devices. The making available under the first sentence must be arranged such that the requesting undertaking can provide or carry on its payment services or e-money business without hindrance, and that functional equivalence is ensured.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where, at the time of the request, the systems undertaking is not an undertaking whose technical infrastructure services are used by more than ten payment service providers within the meaning of section 1(1), first sentence, nos. 1 to 3, or e-money issuers within the meaning of section 1(2), first sentence, no. 1 or 2, or that has more than two million registered users.
(3) The systems undertaking is, exceptionally, not required to comply with subsection (1) where objectively justified reasons exist for refusing to make the service available. Such reasons exist in particular where the systems undertaking can demonstrate that the security and integrity of the technical infrastructure services would be specifically jeopardised by making them available. The refusal must be comprehensibly reasoned. The payment service provider may have the reasons for the refusal reviewed by an expert. For this purpose, the systems undertaking must, on request, provide the expert without delay with the information necessary for that review. The expert is under a duty of confidentiality in respect of the information provided and may not disclose it to the payment service provider or to third parties.
(4) Where a systems undertaking culpably breaches subsection (1), it is liable to the requesting undertaking for the resulting damage. The ordinary courts have jurisdiction.
(5) The tasks and competences of the competition authorities under the Act against Restraints of Competition remain unaffected.