The FCA has reopened the notifications window for its temporary permissions regime (TPR). EEA firms and fund managers wishing to use the TPR should notify the FCA by the end of 30 December 2020.
Questions continue to arise over the interplay of the second Payment Services Directive with the General Data Protection Regulation. The European Data Protection Board has published draft guidelines.
On 3 September 2020, Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, delivered a speech to the Brookings Institution regarding innovation in payments, setting out his view that innovations need to be underpinned by an appropriate regulatory framework to be suitable for use on a wider scale. In his view, stablecoins have the potential to be suitable for widespread use, but must meet the standards of other regulated payments to maintain consumer protection and promote consumer confidence.
Brazil’s General Data Protection Law applies to financial services firms located outside of Brazil that process personal data of data subjects located in Brazil.
The UK’s JMLSG has published new sectoral guidance on how cryptoasset businesses should manage money laundering risk.
On 20 July 2020, HM Treasury published a consultation paper proposing to bring the promotion of certain types of cryptoasset within scope of the financial promotions restriction. The proposed changes, together with those proposed in the Treasury’s parallel consultation on the financial promotions approval regime would result in a significant expansion of the scope of the financial promotions regime.