FinTech Industry & Regulation – Page 8 – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

Brexit: Payment Regulations on a Temporary Standstill

Dec 29 2020

By Kai Zhang, Special Counsel, London

Changes are coming to the UK payment services regulatory landscape post-Brexit (from 1 January 2021). However, certain Brexit-triggered changes have been put by the FCA on “standstill”, which lasts until 31 March 2022; i.e. during this standstill period, firms can effectively ignore the relevant changes and continue to comply with the current requirements.

We summarise here how the standstill applies to some of the key legislation. Note that this does not cover the changes themselves that have been made due to Brexit.

The Next Wave of Fintech Investors: Banks!

Nov 23 2020

By: Judie Rinearson

While global investment in fintechs has slowed, interest in fintech investments from the banking sector has actually increased. What’s particularly intriguing is that this is not coming just from the big banks (who have been involved in the fintech sector for years) but frequently many smaller banks are starting to recognize the opportunity presented by investing in the fintechs — especially those fintechs that the banks already work with. Boston partners, Stan Ragalevsky and Rob Tammero have analyzed this development, which looks to be a true win-win for both the banks and fintechs involved. Click here to read more.

Good News for Fintechs: Taiwan Announces Plans to Streamline Payments Regulations

Nov 23 2020

By: Joseph Tseng

In an effort to promote the use of electronic payments and develop its fintech industries, Taiwan’s financial regulator has moved to combine the existing legal regime governing payment institutions and electronic money by proposing an amendment to the Act Governing Electronic Payment Institutions. The proposed amendment seeks both to cope with the disappearing line between physical cards, electronic stored-value cards and virtual, app-based services, while expanding the businesses that electronic payment institutions can do. Click here for more information.

California Enacts “Mini-CFPB” Law, Significantly Altering Financial Services Regulation in the State

Oct 01 2020

By: Jeremy McLaughlin & Mehreen Ahmed

On September 25, 2020, California Governor Newsom signed AB-1864 into law, which will significantly change the landscape of consumer financial service regulation in the state. The law renames the Department of Business Oversight as the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”). Along with a new name, the DFPI also gains important enforcement powers as the agency will now have the power to enforce all California laws related to “persons offering or providing consumer financial products or services in the state.” The law allows DFPI to establish a “Financial and Technology Innovation Office.” A key aim of the law is to improve the state’s consumer protection capacity by increasing the number of investigators and attorneys to oversee financial institutions.

CSBS Rolls Out Joint Examination Initiative for Nationwide Payments Firms

Sep 21 2020

By Jeremy McLaughlin and Dan S. Cohen

On September 17, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced that at least 40 states will establish a joint examination process for “nationwide payments firms” for the 2021 examination cycle. Known as “MSB Networked Supervision,” the initiative will allow 78 licensed payments companies, including some cryptocurrency exchanges, to undergo one joint examination rather than separate examinations for each state in which they are licensed. The examinations will be conducted by a group of examiners from multiple states but led by one designated state’s regulator. To be eligible, companies must be licensed in at least 40 states. This initiative follows the “One Company, One Exam Pilot” that was completed earlier this year and is part of CSBS Vision 2020, an initiative to create “a networked system of nonbank licensing and supervision.”

Remittance Companies in CFPB’s Crosshairs

Sep 14 2020

By Jeremy McLaughlin and Judie Rinearson

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced settlements with two remittance transfer providers for violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) and the Remittance Rule, part of the regulation that implements the EFTA—an area in which there isn’t typically much CFPB enforcement activity.

New EU digital finance rules by the end of 2020

Jul 09 2020

By Giovanni Campi

In a recent address on digital finance in the context of the European Commission’s Digital Finance Outreach, European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, shared some of the Commission’s thinking on technological innovation and digital finance.

It’s BA-ACK! OCC planning a new fintech charter: “Payments Charter 1.0”

Jul 06 2020

By Judie Rinearson and Mehreen Ahmed

On June 25, 2020, Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks announced in an American Bankers Association’s podcast that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) is planning to introduce “Payments Charter 1.0”, which would effectively be a “national version of a state money transmission license.”

The OCC’S ANPR on Digital Banking: Is this a Harbinger for Digital and Open Banking in the US?

Jun 19 2020

By Judie Rinearson, John ReVeal and Stan Ragalevsky

The office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on June 3, 2020, focusing on digital banking activities. Typically such ANPRs are a precursor to new federal regulation; following collection of data from the industry and other interested parties, the OCC may propose new regulations by issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking within 6-12 months. Responses to the ANPR are due on August 3, 2020.

OCC Issues Final Rule to Fix Madden

Jun 15 2020

John ReVeal and Judie Rinearson

On May 29, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued a final rule (https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/federal-register/2020/nr-occ-2020-71a.pdf) to clarify that, when a federal or state-chartered savings association transfers a loan portfolio, interest permissible on the loans before the transfer continues to be permissible after the transfer. In this way, the OCC hopes to resolve the uncertainty created by the Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC decision (“Madden”).

Category:FinTech Industry & Regulation