3 6 June 2009

News:

The European Commission launched a consultation on 8 June into whether European Union legislation or European Central Bank (ECB) regulation should be used to set an end-date for migration of credit transfers and direct debits to Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) products. The public consultation also asks whether non-Euro countries - such as the UK - should be allowed longer than Eurozone countries to migrate to SEPA. SEPA aims to make cross-border electronic payments in Euro as easy as domestic payments.

The Federal Reserve Bank should expand its role in electronic payments if it is to fulfil its mandate to ensure the integrity and efficiency of the payments system, according to Thomas Hoenig, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas. Hoenig - speaking at the European Central Bank/De Nederlandsche Bank conference on 'Retail payments: integration and innovation', on 25 May - also said that the Federal Reserve should not contemplate an exit from retail payments.

Facebook began selling 'credits' on 3 June, which can be used to purchase virtual goods or advertising on the social networking site. Users can buy credit to purchase virtual goods, such as online gifts, through third party applications running on the site, or from the site directly. The 'credit' system will be governed by Facebook's Payment Terms.

Features:

Last year, we ran an editorial considering whether mobile payments were finally taking off. Twelve months in the world of payments can be a long time, so it is well timed that a report has recently been published looking at developments in P2P (person-toperson) and P2B (person-to-business) mobile payments¹.

The Consumer Credit Directive (CCD) - a full harmonisation Directive - has to be transposed into UK law by June 2010. The CCD will override and replace any provision of the UK's 2006 Consumer Credit Act (CCA) that contradicts or goes further than the CCD. Mark Dewar, a Partner at Simmons & Simmons, examines the requirements under the CCD and its interplay with existing regulations under the CCA.

The new version of the E-Money Directive, which has been forwarded to the EU Council for final adoption, will require implementation by Member States within 18 months once passed. John Casanova and William Long, of Sidley Austin LLP, highlight the main changes in the new version of the Directive, such as the amended definition of e-money, the new prudential regime and anti-money laundering threshold increases.

In October 2008, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Banking Code Standards Board (BCSB) published a joint communication on savings advertising. Following this, FSA and BCSB conducted a joint review between December 2008 and March 2009 into the standards found in the market. Brett Hillis and Tom Dunn, of Denton Wilde Sapte, examine the concerns over savings advertising and the findings of the joint review.

US President, Barack Obama, recently signed into law the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, which limits the ability of credit card issuers to adjust the rates and fees it charges its customers. Agnes Bundy Scanlan, Counsel at Goodwin Procter, examines the provisions of the Act and further discussions that have been taking place on interchange fees.