Following Covid-19, the message from the UK financial regulators regarding payments firms and payments innovation has stepped up. Recently, the Bank of England published a speech given by Christina Segal-Knowles (Executive Director, Financial Market Infrastructure Directorate) on 11 June in which she discussed the emerging themes and challenges for payments firms and payments innovation. Read more

After highlighting payment services as a priority in its 2020/21 business plan and following “evidence that some firms have not implemented the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 or Payment Services Regulations 2017 as [the FCA] expects”, the FCA has published a short consultation proposing further guidance for Payment Services Providers (PSPs), including Payment Institutions (PIs) and … Read more

Genevieve Marjoribanks, Head of Policy at the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), delivered an insightful speech to the Westminster Business eForum this week on innovation in payments and the next steps for digital payments in the UK. One of the PSR’s three key objectives is to promote the development of and innovation in payment systems, including … Read more

First published on Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence on 13 May 2020 In April, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published, in response to a request from the G20, its awaited consultation on the regulatory, supervisory and oversight challenges raised by “global stablecoins” (GSCs). Given the FSB’s remit, the focus of the consultation is on the impact … Read more

Fintech is a rapidly developing area where developments in the regulatory regime are ongoing. We have created a timeline of key UK and European regulatory milestones to watch out for over the coming months and years. Read more

This article has also been published by the International Financial Law Review (IFLR). The payments sector is one of the fastest growing sectors within the financial services industry. It is underpinned by consumers’ widespread move away from physical cash and towards electronic payments. Whether consumers are using payment cards or apps, the result has been … Read more

The PRA and FCA have published two statements setting out their expectations on UK-regulated firms under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR). A joint statement from the PRA and FCA has been published for dual-regulated firms (the Joint Statement), while the FCA have separately published a statement for solo-regulated firms (the FCA Statement). There … Read more

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a ‘Dear CEO’ letter (the letter) with an update on key issues in light of COVID-19 to firms providing services to retail investors. In addition to the measures it has taken with the Bank of England (BoE) and HM Treasury (HMT), the FCA has considered many requests for … Read more