One could be forgiven, amidst the noise and glamour of the Leeds Reforms and the Mansion House speech, for having missed the snappily titled Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities etc.) (Amendment)...more
7/23/2025
/ Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Lenders ,
New Regulations ,
Payment Systems ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements
On June 18, 2025, the Council of the European Union (EU) took a significant step forward in modernising the EU’s payment services framework by formally agreeing on its negotiating mandate for the Payment Services Directive 3...more
In an exciting week for consumer credit lawyers, in addition to the consultation paper on the reform of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA), we also have HM Treasury’s response to the feedback it received from the 61...more
On February 13, 2025, Australia passed legislation implementing its Scams Prevention Framework (SPF) aimed at protecting Australian consumers from scams. The design of the SPF was informed by a previous consultation which ran...more
On 29 April, the UK government published draft legislation which will bring currently unregulated cryptoassets, including stablecoins, within the scope of financial services regulation. This is the first of a number of...more
5/5/2025
/ Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Licensing Rules ,
New Legislation ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Stablecoins ,
UK
The UK Government has announced the abolition of the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), with a view to driving economic growth and reducing the burdens on business.
The practical impact on firms is yet to be seen, and the...more
The new Regulation (EU) 2024/886 on instant credit transfers in euros (IPR), amending the so-called SEPA Regulation, is here, and it’s time to gear up! Effective from April 8, 2024, the first set of obligations kicks in on...more
1/15/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Compliance ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Eurozone ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements
In order to increase the use of instant credit transfers in euros at Union level, the EU legislators have amended Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 establishing technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct...more
On October 24, 2024, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) jointly announced the implementation of the Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF) in relation to phishing...more
11/15/2024
/ Consultation Papers ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Fraud ,
Mobile Payments ,
Monetary Authority of Singapore ,
New Guidance ,
Phishing Scams ,
Scams ,
Singapore ,
Telecommunications
It has been a long time in gestation but finally, over three and a half years after the Woolard Review highlighted the potential risks of unregulated, but easily available, interest free credit facilities, we have the...more
On 25 October 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) jointly published a consultation paper on a proposed Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF) in relation to...more
"Promotions aren't just about the likes, they're about the law," is the caption that accompanies the UK Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) recent decision to charge nine influencers in connection with the promotion on social...more
6/18/2024
/ Contests & Promotions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Promotions ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
FSMA ,
Influencers ,
Marketing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Social Media ,
UK
On 30 November 2023, the Treasury of the Australian Government released its consultation paper on a proposed Scams Code Framework (the Framework) which seeks to establish robust codes and targeted measures to reduce scam...more
The PRA has published its final policy on the requirements for non-systemic UK banks and building societies to prepare for a solvent exit. The new rules require all firms in scope to prepare for an orderly solvent exit as...more
In our annual financial services Horizon Scanning webinar, our regulatory team provided an overview of upcoming and expected changes for UK firms.
Partners from our UK team considered regulatory updates on the horizon for...more
The Digital Euro project is the European Central Bank’s (ECB) response to the changing landscape of consumer payments, driven by the rise of cryptocurrency, payment fintechs and electronic transactions. A Digital Euro would...more
8/7/2023
/ Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda
This paper discusses the way forward for the UK as it moves out of the legislative orbit of the EU and commences the wider regulatory reform programme proposed by the UK government.
...more
The FCA published its final rules on the Consumer Duty in a Policy Statement on 27 July 2022 (PS22/9) and firms now have until 31 July 2023 to fully implement such rules for new and existing products or services and until 31...more
The FCA published its final rules on the Consumer Duty in a Policy Statement on 27 July 2022 (PS22/9) and firms now have until 31 July 2023 to fully implement such rules for new and existing products or services and until 31...more
The FCA has finalised its new proposed consumer duty regime for UK firms, with a start date of July 2023 (subject to transitional provisions). The first milestone in terms of a relevant firm’s implementation project is 31...more
On 22 September, just two months after the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSM Bill) was introduced to Parliament, the government introduced the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (the Brexit Freedoms Bill). ...more
The Financial Services and Markets Bill establishes a new framework for the Bank of England’s regulation of Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) and in particular central counterparties (CCPs) and central securities...more
The Financial Services and Markets Bill creates a Designated Activities Regime that will impact both authorised and unregulated firms. The Designated Activities Regime is intended to maintain the purview of the Financial...more
This briefing is one in a series on the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB). In this briefing we discuss the revocation of onshored EU law contained in the FSMB, focusing on some questions of relevance to firms.
...more
How A&O Consulting can help you meet the challenge of the wider ranging set of requirements and regulatory expectations for the Consumer Duty....more