The FCA has published the key findings from its multi-firm review of payment account providers’ systems and controls against money mule activity (ie where someone is recruited by criminals to move illegally obtained money)....more
Open Banking Limited (OBL) has published two data collection frameworks for approval by the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC), one for API availability and performance (under the theme ‘Levelling up availability and...more
Following the publication in July 2023 of a policy statement on payment service contract termination rules and freedom of expression, HM Treasury (HMT) has now published a further statement on implementation, timings and next...more
The European Commission has just published its current thinking on green mergers. Recognizing that competition law must play its part in achieving the European Green Deal, the Commission sets the scene and explains how its...more
Key developments of interest over the last month include: the UK Payment Systems Regulator consulting on a specific direction to Faster Payments participants on its new APP fraud reimbursement requirement; the U.S. Federal...more
HM Treasury has published the response to its July 2022 consultation and call for evidence on payments regulation and the systemic perimeter. HMT proposes the following next steps: extend the scope of the Bank of England’s...more
With its Consumer Duty now in force for new and existing products or services open to sale or renewal, the FCA is not letting the grass grow under its feet. It has published its expected Cash Savings Market Review report and...more
As part of a June 2023 action plan between the UK government and key regulators to ensure fair treatment of consumers and help those struggling to make payments, the FCA has agreed to focus on the savings market, with a...more
In his Mansion House speech on 10 July 2023, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt referred to further planned reforms - the ‘Mansion House reforms’ - that build on December 2022’s Edinburgh Reforms. This is all part of...more
Following Royal Assent for the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has wasted little time in launching a consultation on the three legal instruments that will implement its policy on...more
HM Treasury has published its response to the first-stage consultation on the strategic approach to reforming the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA), described in the response as ‘an ambitious overhaul’ of the regime. The...more
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published a policy statement on its new reimbursement requirement to fight authorised push payment (APP) fraud. Subject to a few exceptions (eg removal of the minimum threshold for...more
Following the publication in April of its recommendations for the next phase of Open Banking in the UK, the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC) has now set out an ‘ambitious programme of work’ to take those...more
As previously referred to by the FCA (for example in its 2023/24 Business Plan) and following its Borrowers in Financial Difficulty (BiFD) project findings, it has launched a consultation setting out how it plans to...more
HM Treasury has published the text of the awaited draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) on UK-EU regulatory co-operation in financial services, which has already been adopted by the European Commission. The focus of the MoU...more
The FCA’s evaluation of its 2019 personal current account (PCA) overdraft rule changes - introduced as part of its High-Cost Credit Review - paints a largely positive picture in terms of good consumer outcomes. However, the...more
With the entry into force of its new Consumer Duty now only months away, the FCA has taken the opportunity presented by its latest Business Plan to reinforce its message that it’s placing ensuring good consumer outcomes at...more
With the economic and geopolitical environment likely to remain ‘highly uncertain’, the FCA’s latest Business Plan reflects its decision to accelerate work in four areas over the next year: putting consumers’ needs first;...more
As part of the Hogan Lovells FinTech Fundamentals webinar series, on 22 March 2023 Financial Services Regulatory senior associate Jen Staniforth hosted a thought provoking panel discussion on the impact of the cost of living...more
The FCA has published a Portfolio letter setting out its priorities for payments and e-money firms amidst tightening economic conditions and the cost-of-living crisis. Among the three outcomes that it has set for firms in...more
The FCA has published its finalised guidance (FG23/2) for firms supporting their existing mortgage borrowers impacted by the rising cost of living. The FCA reiterates that the guidance clarifies the effect of its existing...more
On 3 March 2023, the FCA published its third batch of portfolio letters setting out its expectations for firms implementing the Consumer Duty. We covered the previous two sets of letters in our Engage articles of 9 and 28...more
The eagerly awaited sixth edition of the Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Grid has been published by the Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Forum. The delay to its publication (originally expected in November...more
Under the new Consumer Understanding Outcome, firms in scope of the Consumer Duty must support retail customer understanding so that all communications meet the information needs of retail customers; are likely to be...more
The outlook for 2023 looks uncertain, following another tumultuous year. The collapse of a number of large cryptocurrency exchanges has shone another spotlight on the digital asset market. The financial system’s resilience...more