MAS confirms regulatory approach for derivative contracts on payment tokens. By Farhana Sharmeen and Marc Jia Renn Tan On 15 May 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the MAS) issued its response to feedback about its proposed regulatory approach for derivative contracts that reference payment tokens as underlying assets (Payment Token Derivatives), confirming that it … Continue Reading
The report encourages the G20 to consider a broad set of supervisory principles when evaluating global stablecoin arrangements. By Todd Beauchamp, Stuart Davis, Christian F. McDermott, Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink, Simon Hawkins, and Deric Behar On April 14, 2020, the G20’s Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a consultation on the regulation, supervision, and … Continue Reading
Call for input: market players need to engage with the process for the procurement of the NPA By Stuart Davis, David Little, Christian McDermott, Brett Carr, and Nathan Wilkins This Call for Input is part of the development of the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) policy for the future regulation of the newly procured New Payments … Continue Reading
Latham derivatives and FinTech partner Yvette Valdez explores regulatory issues impacting cryptocurrency derivatives on the Fintech Beat podcast. By Yvette D. Valdez New York partner Yvette Valdez, a member of Latham & Watkins’ FinTech Industry Group, recently discussed timely issues at the intersection of cryptoassets and derivatives law on a new episode of Fintech Beat. … Continue Reading
Upgraded legislation creates an enhanced regulatory framework for the new age of payments, including e-money and digital payment tokens. By Farhana Sharmeen and Simon Hawkins After much anticipation, and following consultations with the industry at large, the game-changing Payment Services Act 2019 (PSA) has finally become operational. The PSA, which came into effect on 28 … Continue Reading
CBDCs will have a profound effect on the financial markets, and policy-makers must thoroughly consider the complex legal and regulatory issues. By Stuart Davis, Andrew Moyle, and Simon Hawkins Latham & Watkins lawyers are pleased to have contributed to the World Economic Forum’s CBDC Policy-Maker Toolkit. This resource is designed to provide a high-level decision … Continue Reading
In two recent articles, Latham & Watkins lawyers examine the SEC’s guidance on the application of securities regulations to digital assets and the questions that remain unanswered. By Stephen P. Wink, Witold Balaban, John J. Sikora, Miles P. Jennings, Emanuel V. Francone, Cameron R. Kates, and Shaun Musuka Digital Asset Regulation: Howey Evolves In this … Continue Reading
Call for input: Industry needs to engage as the FCA moves forward on its transformative vision for open finance. By Stuart Davis and Brett Carr Imagine a world in which you could access your bank accounts, credit cards, mortgage, pensions, savings accounts and ISAs, brokerage account, home and car insurance, life insurance, and other financial … Continue Reading
Global monetary authorities and financial regulators have responded forcefully to the advent of privately developed global stablecoins. By Todd Beauchamp, David L. Concannon, Stephen P. Wink, Simon Hawkins, Stuart Davis, and Deric Behar A new report highlights the risks of global stablecoins and enumerates the legal, regulatory, and oversight hurdles a global stablecoin must clear … Continue Reading
The BoE is seeking feedback on the Introductory Phase of the ISO 20022 migration, that will create a common language for payments data globally. By Christian F. McDermott, Grace E. Erskine, and Amy Smyth In 2018, the Bank of England (BoE) consulted on the adoption of ISO 20022 — a global standard for payments messaging … Continue Reading
European Commission confirms SCA measures should apply to EU consumers purchasing from UK websites in the event of a no-deal Brexit. By Christian F. McDermott, Jagveen S. Tyndall, and Amy Smyth Complex payment processing chains comprise multiple entities operating behind the scenes to support everyday transactions. The strong customer authentication (SCA) requirements introduced by the … Continue Reading
US lawmakers urge FSOC to designate cloud-based storage systems used by major banks as systemically important financial market utilities. By Alan W. Avery, Victoria McGrath, and Pia Naib In an August 22, 2019, letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in his capacity as chair of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), Congresswoman Katie Porter … Continue Reading
While the payments industry scrambles to meet new standards for APIs, the FCA grants an extension for SCA compliance. By Christian F. McDermott, Jagveen Tyndall, and Amy Smyth In an effort to evaluate the readiness of banks to comply with the revised EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2), Tink, a banking platform and data provider, has … Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve is finally stepping into the real-time payments arena. By Todd Beauchamp, Loyal T. Horsley, and Deric Behar On August 5, 2019, the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System (the Fed) announced that it plans to roll out a real-time payment and settlement service by 2023 or 2024. The service, … Continue Reading
Several states and municipalities are requiring brick-and-mortar retail locations to accept cash from customers. By Todd Beauchamp, Loyal T. Horsley, and Charles Weinstein On May 7, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to require all brick-and-mortar stores in the city to accept cash from customers. The Board reasoned that the trending practice of … Continue Reading
Stripe-commissioned report projects that Europe’s online economy risks losing €57 billion when SCA goes into effect on 14 September. By Christian F. McDermott A recent report released by 451 Research and commissioned by Stripe, the online payment processing business, has found poor levels of readiness for the requirements of Strong Customer Authentication (SCA). The report … Continue Reading
Latest FCA and PRA fines against a retail bank show little tolerance for poor outsourcing systems and controls. By Fiona M. Maclean, Christian F. McDermott, Laura Holden, and Charlotte Collins On 29 May 2019, the FCA and PRA announced that they had fined an independent UK bank for failing to manage its outsourcing arrangements properly … Continue Reading
FinCEN’s guidance clarifies the applicability of the BSA to a variety of virtual currency businesses. By Todd Beauchamp, Charles Weinstein, Loyal T. Horsley, Cameron R. Kates, and Shaun Musuka On May 9, the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued interpretive guidance expanding on previously issued guidance and rulings regarding the … Continue Reading
As several PSD2 deadlines approach, PSPs must comply with reporting and notification requirements, as well as with their GDPR obligations. By Christian F. McDermott, Fiona M. Maclean, and Jagveen Tyndall Though the majority of the provisions relating to the revised EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2) came into force in the UK on 13 January 2018, … Continue Reading
Federal court allows NYSDFS lawsuit against OCC FinTech charter to proceed, raising further questions about the charter’s viability. By Alan W. Avery, Todd Beauchamp, Loyal T. Horsley, Pia Naib, and Charles Weinstein In a May 2 order, US District Court Judge Victor Marrero rejected the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC’s) recent motion … Continue Reading
The enforcement action serves as a reminder that virtual currency exchangers, regardless of size, must comply with the BSA. By Todd Beauchamp and Charles Weinstein The US Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) does not care if you are a multinational corporation or an individual operating out of your garage; regardless of size, … Continue Reading
International perspectives on regulatory developments impacting innovation in financial services. Approximately 100 financial institutions and emerging companies recently convened in London for a forum on regulatory developments and other considerations that will impact innovation in financial services this year. The Latham-sponsored event — “From Geek to Chic: The Rapid Evolution of Payments and Cryptocurrencies and … Continue Reading
The guidelines create new obligations for financial, payment, and electronic money institutions that will impact cloud outsourcing and deployment of FinTech. By Fiona M. Maclean and Laura Holden On 25 February 2019, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a final report on its draft guidelines on outsourcing arrangements (Guidelines). The report followed the EBA’s publication … Continue Reading
From August 2019, certain existing FCA rules and guidance will extend to payment service providers and e-money issuers in a signal that the FCA wants a consistent approach to consumer protection. By Rob Moulton, Brett Carr, and Frida Montenius The FCA has published a Policy Statement extending certain rules and guidance to the payment services … Continue Reading
