Key developments of interest over the last month include: draft legislation to regulate BNPL credit in the UK (in contrast to the de-prioritising of enforcement of BNPL regulatory breaches in the US); final confirmation of UK...more
The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced details of the launch of the procurement process for the pilot digital gilt instrument (DIGIT) issuance. The pilot aims to: (i) enable the government to explore how distributed...more
Key developments of interest over the last month include: the UK government publishing a pro-growth Action Plan for regulators and regulation, including pledges from the FCA of relevance to payments and digital assets firms;...more
The UK’s Treasury ("HMT") has set out an Action Plan to ensure that regulation promotes growth and investment. Noting that while regulation has many benefits, the UK’s current stance is hindering its international...more
Digitalisation and the application of key technologies, such as distributed ledger technology (DLT), are reshaping the landscape of global finance. In this report, TheCityUK has collaborated with Hogan Lovells to consider the...more
In a previous alert, we identified that the definition of a collective investment scheme (CIS) could capture on-chain staking, and that the UK government, acting through the HM Treasury (HMT), was looking to clarify the...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
Key developments of interest over the last month include: the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer makes her first Mansion House speech and HM Treasury publishes the National Payments Vision, indicating a focus on economic growth...more
The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Mansion House speech on 14 November 2024 and the National Payments Vision—published on the same day—set out key policy initiatives regarding the future of the UK financial services sector....more
Key developments of interest over the last month include: the European Banking Authority’s publication of a report on virtual IBANs; HM Treasury’s designation of banks under the access to cash framework; and a Central Bank of...more
Key developments of interest over the last month include: the European Parliament’s ECON Committee adopting draft reports on the European Commission’s PSR and PSD3 legislative proposals; ESMA consulting on 'reverse...more
Responses to the joint Bank of England and HM Treasury consultation paper on a “digital pound” are in, with over 50,000 submissions in total. The scale of feedback shows significant interest in a discussion which could pave...more
On 25 January 2024, the Bank of England and the UK Government (through HM Treasury) published a response to the consultation (the “Consultation Response”) that was launched last year on a UK retail central bank digital...more
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Digital Securities Sandbox) Regulations 2023 came into force on Jan. 8, creating the U.K.'s first digital securities sandbox within which firms would be able to test new...more
On 8 January 2024, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Digital Securities Sandbox) Regulations 2023 enter into force, creating the Digital Securities Sandbox within which certain Financial Market Infrastructures will...more
On 6 November 2023, the Bank of England (the UK’s central bank) issued a discussion paper on the regulation on stablecoins, alongside another paper by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (DP23/4) and a “Dear CEO” letter...more
On 30 October 2023, the HM Treasury (HMT) published its much-anticipated response (Consultation Response) to its March 2023 consultation paper (Consultation) on the UK’s future financial services regime for cryptoassets....more
On 30 October 2023, the UK government published an update on its legislative approach for regulating fiat-backed stablecoins, following on from its consultation on the UK regulatory approach to cryptoassets and stablecoins in...more
On 30 October 2023, the UK government published its response to the consultation and call for evidence on the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, whereby HM Treasury has confirmed its final...more
The Bank of England and HM Treasury are consulting on the model for a UK retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) or ‘digital pound’ that would sit alongside, not replace, cash. On the basis of their work to date, both the...more
On 1 February 2023, HM Treasury published a long-awaited consultation paper and call for evidence setting out proposals for the UK’s financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets. The proposals mark the next stage of...more
In a departure from recent proposals to bring certain cryptoassets into the scope of the Financial Promotion Order, the government intends to introduce a bespoke temporary exemption for financial promotions relating to...more
Following the call for evidence issued in January 2021, the U.K. government has confirmed that it will bring the issuing or facilitating the use of stablecoins used as a means of payment into the U.K. regulatory perimeter, in...more
Key developments of interest over the last month include: In this Newsletter: For previous editions of the Global Payments Newsletter, please visit our Financial Services practice page. On 9 March 2022, President Biden signed...more
Currently, cryptoasset exchanges and wallet providers are not generally required (depending on their business model) to identify their customers, monitor transactions or report suspicious activity. On 15 April HM Treasury...more