FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch – Page 2 – At the Crossroads of Law, Innovation and Commerce

Banking Regulators’ Growing Concerns over Bank-Fintech Partnerships

Aug 28 2024

By: Jeremy M. McLaughlin, Grant F. Butler, Andrew C. Glass, Gregory N. Blase, and Joshua L. Durham

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have jointly issued a request for information (RFI) seeking input on the nature, risks, and implications of bank-fintech partnerships. Accompanying the RFI, the agencies issued a joint statement on banks’ arrangements with third parties to deliver bank deposit products and services (Joint Statement). We will be hosting a webinar on this topic on 10 September (register here), and comments to the RFI are due 30 September.

Vermont Enters a New Age of Virtual Currency Money Transmission

Aug 14 2024

By: Jeremy McLaughlin and Joshua Durham

Effective July 2024, Vermont rehauled its money transmission law, joining the other states (approximately half) that have enacted some or all of the Money Transmission Modernization Act (MTMA). In doing so, Vermont furthers a trend of states expanding their regulators’ purview over the virtual currency industry.

Warning: UK Makes Reimbursing Customers Tricked into Authorizing Payments Mandatory

Jul 29 2024

By: Kai Zhang and Judie Rinearson

Authorized push payment frauds (APP fraud) happen where one is tricked into sending money to a fraudster posing as a genuine payee. Currently some protection is provided to UK victims via a voluntary industry code. However, this has been considered insufficient. So now a new mandatory reimbursement regime is coming, from 7 October 2024.

Recent Supreme Court Decisions Could Significantly Impact the Payments Industry

Jul 02 2024

By: Jeremy McLaughlin, Greg Blase, Andrew Glass, and Josh Durham

The Supreme Court issued two decisions at the end of its term that will significantly alter how federal courts review challenges to federal regulations. The decisions could have a significant impact on the highly regulated payments industry.

The Long and Winding Road: Navigating Fintech and Crypto App Approvals by the Apple Store

Jun 20 2024

By: Andrew Hinkes and Judie Rinearson

Much has been written about the effort it takes to have a new app approved by the Apple App Store. With good reason, Apple’s strict approval process ensures quality and maintains the standards of its ecosystem. As Apple itself reports, in 2023 it “rejected more than 1.7 million app submissions for failing to meet the App Store’s stringent standards for privacy, security, and content.”¹ An article from Decode about the top reasons for an Apple rejection² included the usual tech-related problems: The app is low quality; there are broken links; lots of bugs and crashes; etc.

CFPB Aims to End the Use of Medical Debt Information in Making Credit Determinations and in Credit Reporting

Jun 19 2024

By: Andrew C. Glass, Gregory N. Blase, and Joshua L. Durham

On June 11, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to ban the inclusion of medical bills in consumer credit reports.

Australia: Crypto in the Courts

Jun 11 2024

By: Daniel Knight and Ben Kneebush

On 4 June 2024, the latest chapter in ASIC’s crypto-asset enforcement efforts unfolded with the Federal Court relieving Block Earner from liability to pay penalties in connection with providing unlicensed financial services (ASIC’s media release can be found here).

South Carolina Becomes the Fifth State to Enact An Earned Wage Access Law

May 29 2024

By: John ReVeal and Jennifer Crowder

On May 21, the South Carolina Governor signed a Bill to enact the Earned Wage Access Services Act (the Act), joining Kansas, Missouri, Nevada and Wisconsin as the fifth state to codify earned wage access (EWA) services. Many other states are considering such legislation, while a few others have so far relied on regulatory opinions or guidance.

EU/Luxembourg Update on the Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets and the Digital Operational Resilience Act

May 24 2024

By: Dr. Jan Boeing and Tanner Wonnacott

MiCA Update

The Regulation on Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA)¹ is part of the European Commission’s Digital Finance Package of September 2020, which includes other regulatory initiatives, such as the Pilot Regime for market infrastructures based on distributed ledger technology² and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).³

AML Reforms Part 2: Digital Currency Service Providers

May 23 2024

By: Daniel Knight and Kithmin Ranamukhaarachchi

The Australian Attorney-General’s Department (Department) has released five consultation papers outlining proposals for extensive reforms to Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regime.