Reform of the appointed representatives (ARs) regime has been on the cards for some time, with an HM Treasury (HMT) call for evidence having been published as far back as December 2021. HMT has now published a policy...more
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has delivered her second Mansion House speech and announced the “Leeds Reforms” in conjunction with publication of the awaited Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy and related...more
As with the European Parliament’s April 2024 adopted texts, the Council of the EU’s proposed amendments to the European Commission’s June 2023 legislative proposals touch on some significant areas of interest for payment...more
The FCA has published the findings from its review of firms’ approach to pricing transparency when offering UK customers international money remittance and cross border payments. It highlights proactive and clear disclosure...more
There are over 80 million people with disabilities in the EU. The European Accessibility Act 2019 (EAA) (Directive (EU) 2019/882) implements the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and aims at...more
Proposed increases in the deposit protection limit from £85,000 to £110,000 and in the temporary high balance limit from £1 million to £1.4 million would take effect from 1 December 2025. There would be a transitional period...more
The government has published a policy paper containing an Action Plan for “A new approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth”. The Action Plan shows a shift in approach towards regulation (including, but not...more
The government has published a policy paper containing an Action Plan for “A new approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth”. The Action Plan shows a shift in approach towards regulation (including, but not...more
Potential issues identified from stakeholder feedback to the FCA and PSR call for information include insufficient competition between digital wallets and between payment systems within digital wallets. The majority of...more
In a recent response to an EBA Q&A and with reference to existing ECJ case law, the European Commission has stated that the condition of acceptance in the definition of e-money in the second E-Money Directive (2009/110/EC)...more
Banks and EMIs will need to consider the impacts of proposed new requirements to comply with information notices and account direct deduction orders on their policies, procedures and controls. For information notices, this...more
On 14 January 2025, the Bank of England ("BoE") published a design note outlining its current thinking relating to the design of a digital pound (the "Design Note") and a progress update summarising the BoE’s work on...more
Key developments of interest over the last month include: the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau publishing a final rule on federal supervision of Big Tech and other widely used digital payment apps; the UK FCA...more
On 26 November 2024, the FCA published a number of communications relating to its approach to developing the future cryptoassets regime for the UK, including a roadmap for the development and introduction of the UK’s...more
At her inaugural Mansion House speech on 14 November 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer outlined a number of key policy initiatives for the UK financial services sector. This note sets out the main initiatives, which...more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is turning its thoughts to the year ahead in publishing a series of portfolio letters focusing on its 2025 supervisory priorities for retail banks, building societies, non-bank mortgage...more
HM Treasury has published its long-awaited response to the February 2023 consultation on its proposed approach to bringing Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) within the FCA’s regulatory perimeter. The government is clear that “swift...more
Given the sea change of payment services directive 2015/2366 (“PSD2”), one might expect the prospect of the proposed PSD3 and PSR to have psps groaning at the thought of yet more root and branch reg change projects. However,...more
With the new mandatory reimbursement requirements for Faster Payments and CHAPS now in force, we provide a quick reference guide to the key publications to date. As in-scope payment service providers (PSPs) move into the...more
Just days before the 7 October go-live for the new Faster Payments System (FPS) and CHAPS mandatory reimbursement requirements, HM Treasury (HMT) has published its awaited final draft outbound payments delay legislation. PSPs...more
On 18 September 2024, the FCA provided insights from its supervisory activity on price and value in its priority areas of cash savings, GAP insurance and cash on investment platforms following the implementation of the...more
In July this year the FCA announced that, following the launch of a review of historical motor finance commission arrangements and sales across several firms (January 2024), it was pushing back the timing for publication of...more
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published a response to its December 2023 consultation (call for views) which set out initial proposals on how the PSR could support the expansion of Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs)...more
After a short consultation period, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has confirmed its decision to reduce the maximum level of reimbursement for the Faster Payments System (FPS) APP fraud mandatory reimbursement requirement...more
The FCA believes that there is a continuing problem with poor safeguarding practices across the industry due to poor implementation of the current regulatory framework under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (PSRs) and...more