FCA Letter to E-Money Institutions: Why All UK Payment Service Providers Should Review Their Marketing Practices Now
On May 18, 2021, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a “Dear CEO” letter (the Letter) asking e-money institutions to ensure that their customers understand how their money is protected. The FCA has expressed concern that e-money institutions do not adequately disclose the differences in protections between e-money and … Read More
UK FCA Consults on Changes to Strong Consumer Authentication, Dedicated Interfaces, and Guidance on Payment Services
On January 28, 2021, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Consultation Paper CP21/3, “Changes to the SCA-RTS and to the guidance in ‘Payment Services and Electronic Money – Our Approach’ and the Perimeter Guidance Manual” (Consultation Paper). This follows the FCA’s announcement in its 2020-21 business plan that … Read More
Partnering With Tech and Fintech Firms: Key EU/UK Regulatory Considerations for the Payments Sector
There has been a rapid increase in collaboration between fintechs and other technology firms and more traditional payment service providers (PSPs) such as banks, merchant acquirers, and money transmitters. While fintechs and technology firms are often seen as direct competitors of traditional PSPs, in a market driven by innovation, both … Read More
Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts – UK Offers Legal Clarity
On November 18, 2019, the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce, which is part of The English Law Society’s LawTech Delivery Panel, published its Legal Statement on the status of cryptoassets and smart contracts (the Legal Statement).
New EU Strong Customer Authentication Standards: Implications for Payment Service Providers
Under the revised Payment Services Directive (2015/2366) (PSD2), the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Commission were required to develop and adopt regulatory technical standards on strong customer authentication and common and secure open standards of communication. These regulatory technical standards were passed into EU law as Commission Delegated … Read More
“Cryptoassets are here to stay”: EU Authorities to Provide Guidance on Cryptocurrencies and ICOs
On September 4, the Innovation Group of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs met to discuss a proposal presented by the rapporteur Ashley Fox,1 member of the European Parliament, to include a framework for initial coin offerings (ICOs) within the proposed European Union (EU) financial services … Read More
FinTech and Regulatory Sandboxes in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore
As the FinTech industry continues to expand, regulators around the globe are starting to react. The past 18 months have seen the emergence of a new trend in financial services regulation, the “sandbox.”
Since the launch of the UK’s regulatory sandbox in May 2016, regulators across the globe have adopted … Read More