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1. Without prejudice to the subcontracting possibility outlined in article 6.4, member countries: i) where the entire spectrum of postal payment services as defined in article 1 is not provided by their designated operator(s); or ii) facing the default situation referred to in article 4, shall have the possibility of authorizing the engagement, by designated operators, of wider postal sector players (hereinafter “WPSPs”) to participate in the interconnection and/or operation of postal payment services, with the aim of fostering financial inclusion and further enabling the interoperability of an international postal payment services network.
1.1 Member countries shall ensure that their authorizations for the operation of any postal payment services operated by WPSPs require WPSPs to comply with the relevant provisions of this Agreement relating to postal payment services and shall ensure that such authorizations require the WPSP to comply with any relevant Union requirement for licensing arrangements to operate under the PosTransfer collective brand.
1.2 The identification of WPSPs by member countries shall be in accordance with the parameters defined in paragraph 1 (subject to the detailed operational criteria defined by the relevant body established under the Postal Operations Council).
1.3 The International Bureau shall be responsible for preparing the list of member countries in which WPSPs may be authorized to operate, as well as the list of authorized WPSPs. This list shall be updated by the International Bureau as soon as possible after the occurrence of any change to it and communicated by circular to all member countries.
2. The exercise of the possibility outlined in paragraph 1 shall be subject to the national legislation or policy of the member country in which the WPSP is established. In this regard, and without prejudice to the designation obligations contained in article 3, member countries shall guarantee the continued fulfilment of their obligations under the PPSA.
2.1 Subject to the criteria referred to above, any licensing application concerning a WPSP shall be addressed to the member country where the WPSP intends to perform activities related to the interconnection or operation of postal payment services. In this regard, a WPSP may operate in several member countries provided that it is eligible and has been authorized to do so by the governmental authority of the member country concerned.
2.2 Any authorization formally granted by a member country to a WPSP shall be limited in time and without prejudice to the possibility for the member country to revoke such an authorization should the conditions outlined in paragraph 1 no longer be met.
2.3 For the purposes of paragraph 1.3 above, a copy of the aforementioned member country authorization of a WPSP (and any relevant documentation associated therewith) shall be provided without delay to the International Bureau.
3. Destination member countries not authorizing the acceptance of postal payment orders from a WPSP on their territory shall so inform the International Bureau within four weeks upon receipt of the relevant circular from the International Bureau as referred to in paragraph 1.3.
4. Member countries shall inform the International Bureau on their policies with regard to postal payment orders transmitted through and/or received from WPSPs. Such information shall be made available on the Union’s website.
5. Nothing in this article shall be construed to imply that WPSPs are in the same situation as designated operators of the member country concerned under the Acts of the Union, nor impose a legal obligation on other member countries to recognize such WPSPs as designated operators for the purposes of this Agreement.
6. In order to ensure compliance with the provisions of this article, member countries shall agree to make any authorizations they provide to WPSPs to participate in the interconnection and/or operation of postal payment services conditional on a requirement that the WPSPs consent that their activities relevant to this Agreement may be subject to periodic audits to be conducted by the International Bureau, as per the relevant procedures defined in the Regulations.