Volume: 7 Issue: 10
(October 2013)

News

The UK Government made public its plans to create a new Payments Systems Regulator to be established by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 9 October 2013, as part of its response to the consultation on 'Opening up UK payments.' / read more

The EC launched on 3 October a consultation to explore whether a single EU-wide framework on crowdfunding is needed to support platform developers and investors. / read more

Brazil’s President signed into law on 11 October new regulations for m-payments, which introduce the ‘payment institution’ as a legal entity able to offer m-payment services, and establishes that this institution will regulate all aspects of the e-payment value chain. / read more

Features

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published an Anti-Money Laundering Annual Report 2012/2013 (‘the Report’) this July, highlighting the e-money/prepaid card sector as a direct emerging risk in respect of money laundering and terrorist financing. / read more

In light of recent developments in innovative payment methods, a new proposed regulatory regime has emerged in Hong Kong. The Financial Services and Treasury Bureau ('FSTB') and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ('HKMA') plan to align the legal framework in Hong Kong with emerging payments systems. Gabriela Kennedy, a Partner at Mayer Brown JSM, provides an outline of the proposals made by the FSTB and HKMA. / read more

On 9 October 2013, HM Treasury published its response to feedback received on its consultation paper 'Opening up UK payments.' Fiona Ghosh and Alastair Harris, of Eversheds, examine the key features of the response paper. / read more

In May E-Finance & Payments Law & Policy featured an analysis of the rare occurrence of a European patent being granted for a financial invention of a computer-implemented nature. Philip Cupitt of RGC Jenkins & Co. penned that article and is back to discuss the fine line that separates patentable and unpatentable computer-implemented financial inventions at the European Patent Office. / read more

Online financial activities such as peer-to-peer lending and online third-party payments have been growing in popularity in China since the 1990s. But the rise of such services has led to fresh challenges for China's regulatory authorities. Kevin Wang, a Partner at CMS in China, explores how online financial services are developing in the country, the legal grey areas and the current regulatory stance. / read more

Identity authentication is far from perfect – reports indicate that Welcome1 is the most commonly used password, for example – but with the authentication services sector expected to grow significantly, the time could be right for innovation. Neira Jones, a Partner at payments consultancy Accourt, shares her thoughts on the state of identity and on how regulation – often thought of as an inhibitor – could actually spur on innovation in authentication. / read more

IT teams at financial institutions and outsourcing providers servicing the financial services sector understand all too well the competitive advantage that cloud computing promises, though some remain unclear as to how to resolve surrounding regulatory challenges. John Salmon and Luke Scanlon, of Pinsent Masons, consider the challenges financial institutions face in moving towards the cloud and the extent to which these challenges can be addressed under both current and proposed European regulatory frameworks. In particular, attention is given to data security in the cloud, outsourcing rules, regulator auditing rights, potential foreign government access to data, and transfers outside the European Economic Area (EEA). / read more

About Payments & FinTech Lawyer

The monthly publication covering legal, regulatory and policy developments relating to the fast-moving payments and FinTech sectors. Key topics include mobile payments, e-money, prepaid and other payment cards, online banking, digital currencies such as Bitcoin, card fraud and other cyber crime, RegTech, robo-advice, P2P lending, and crowdfunding, as well as regulatory regimes such as the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), the Payment Accounts Directive, and the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive / read more