3.—(1) The Payment Systems Regulator is responsible in the United Kingdom for all functions of the competent authority provided for in the interchange fee regulation.
(2) The Payment Systems Regulator must maintain arrangements to enable it to—
(a)determine whether regulated persons comply in the United Kingdom with obligations, prohibitions and restrictions imposed on them by the interchange fee regulation, read together with regulations 22 (weighted average interchange fees for domestic debit card transactions) and 23 (exemption from maximum interchange fees for certain three party payment card schemes);
(b)enforce compliance in the United Kingdom by regulated persons with those obligations, prohibitions and restrictions.
(3) In paragraph (2) references to regulated persons include reference to regulated persons situated outside the United Kingdom.
(4) In discharging its functions mentioned in paragraph (5), the Payment Systems Regulator must have regard to—
(a)the need to use the resources of the Payment Systems Regulator in the most efficient and economic way;
(b)the principle that a burden or restriction which is imposed on a person, or on the carrying on of an activity, should be proportionate to the benefits, in general terms, which are expected to result from the imposition of that burden or restriction;
(c)the desirability of sustainable growth in the economy of the United Kingdom in the medium or long term, to the extent that having regard to such factors is appropriate given the obligations, prohibitions and restrictions imposed by the interchange fee regulation and the responsibility of the Payment Systems Regulator set out in paragraph (1);
(d)the general principle that those who use services provided under payment card schemes should take responsibility for their decisions;
(e)the responsibilities of the senior management of regulated persons in relation to compliance with obligations, prohibitions and restrictions imposed by the interchange fee regulation read together with regulations 22 and 23, or imposed under this Part;
(f)the desirability where appropriate of the Payment Systems Regulator exercising its functions in a way that recognises differences in the nature of, and objectives of, businesses carried on by different regulated persons;
(g)the desirability in appropriate cases of the Payment Systems Regulator publishing information relating to regulated persons, or requiring such persons to publish information;
(h)the principle that the Payment Systems Regulator should exercise its functions as transparently as possible.
(5) The functions are—
(a)the function of giving general directions under regulation 4 (considered as a whole), and
(b)functions in relation to giving general guidance under regulation 13 (considered as a whole).