Latest Payments News: UK’s Final Safeguarding Rules Bring Relief, But Challenges Remain, and more

Catch up on some of the stories our payments compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

UK’s Final Safeguarding Rules Bring Relief, But Challenges Remain

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been applauded for listening to the payments industry’s feedback on its proposed safeguarding rule overhaul, but experts warn that challenges still lie ahead for firms.

Changes to the UK’s safeguarding rules have long been anticipated, given the FCA’s concerns over safeguarding practices, as voiced in interventions such as its “Dear CEO” letters to the payments industry.

Legal uncertainty has also been an issue since the insolvency of e-money institution Ipagoo LLP.

With the final rules now unveiled, the payments industry has expressed relief that the FCA has chosen not to implement the so-called end-state rules proposed in its 2024 consultation.

“The FCA engaged in a really constructive way, listened, realised it was more complicated than they had thought and changed its approach,” said Omar Salem, partner at Fox Williams.

Salem speculated that “there is a diminishing chance that the FCA will introduce end-state rules, as most of the benefits are probably from the supplementary rules, but that is a debate for another day now.”

“The most controversial elements were in the proposed end-state rules, which attracted a lot of critical industry feedback,” said Max Savoie, partner at Ashurst.

“The FCA has said it will consult further on these, but only after the first audit period for the new rules. That's the biggest change to the proposals on which the FCA consulted and will be a welcome relief to many firms and trade associations. The issues haven’t gone away, but at least the FCA is considering them further and there will be another opportunity for consultation.”

Martin Dowdall, partner at Taylor Wessing, agreed, describing those rules as “more onerous”.

“Firms will likely be breathing a sigh of relief because the associated time and cost of working with both third parties and internal teams to accommodate these changes would have been significant,” he told Vixio.

Thailand Launches Sandbox For Tourist Crypto-To-Baht Payments

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched an 18-month sandbox, TouristDigiPay, allowing visitors to convert digital assets into Thai baht for spending as e-money, linking regulated asset operators and e-money providers.

The project, jointly run by the SEC, the Ministry of Finance, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, is open to SEC-regulated business operators and e-money service providers and will last for 18 months, the SEC said on August 18.

Tourists will be able to use their smartphones to make payments at merchants across Thailand, including both large retailers and small vendors.

The scheme will not allow digital assets to be used directly as a means of payment for goods and services. Instead, merchants will be paid in Thai baht.

Upon arrival in Thailand, tourists will open an account with a digital asset (DA) operator and a tourist wallet with an e-money service provider. They will then transfer their DA into the wallet and sell them, receiving Thai baht. At that point, they can use their smartphone to pay for goods and services in the local currency.

Pornanong Budsaratragoon, the SEC’s secretary-general, said the TouristDigiPay project builds on Thailand’s existing payments ecosystem, which integrates the DA trading system regulated by the SEC with the e-money system regulated by the Bank of Thailand (BOT).

“The project includes appropriate risk management measures and follows know-your-customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD) procedures in accordance with the standards set by the AMLO and other relevant authorities,” Budsaratragoon said.

“These procedures apply to both DA business operators and e-money service providers.”

As part of the scheme, which the SEC expects to attract foreign capital inflows and boost the Thai economy, the regulator is revising regulations and has opened a pre-consultation phase for businesses to prepare for and discuss the scheme.

The TouristDigiPay sandbox is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2025. Once it concludes, it will be followed by an evaluation of its effectiveness, which will inform further development and expansion of the initiative, the SEC said.

The sandbox will be closely watched by other countries as cryptocurrencies and digital assets move into the financial mainstream.

It will also reinforce Thailand’s reputation as a country taking a leading role in digital innovation.

Treasury and States Step Up Fight Against Digital Asset Fraud

The US Treasury has launched a consultation on tackling illicit finance in crypto, and Illinois has introduced sweeping consumer protection laws, signalling growing federal–state momentum against digital asset fraud.

In a notice issued on August 18, 2025, the Treasury requested feedback on the use of “innovative or novel methods, techniques, or strategies to detect and mitigate illicit finance risks involving digital assets,” in keeping with its GENIUS Act obligations.

Under the terms of the GENIUS Act, which was signed into law by President Trump in July, the Secretary of the Treasury must consult the public on new means of detecting digital asset crime.

The Treasury highlighted improvements in financial institutions’ ability to detect illicit activity involving digital assets, the costs to regulated financial institutions and the amount and sensitivity of information reviewed as areas of particular interest.

It also specified privacy risks, operational challenges and efficiency considerations, cybersecurity risks and the effectiveness of mitigation techniques against illicit finance as policy areas it wanted to cover.

Instant traceability and enhanced security are among the advantages of blockchain technology that the Trump administration is seeking to exploit in the battle against illicit activity involving digital assets.

The deadline for comments is October 17, 2025.

New Zealand Opens Draft Open Banking Regulations For Consultation

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has published draft regulations for comment, marking a step forward in the development of open banking in the country.

The consultation, launched on August 15, 2025, invites comments on two exposure drafts: the first covers regulations designating the banking sector under the Customer and Product Data Act 2025, while the second sets out general requirements for regulated data services under the same legislation.

The proposed regulations designate certain banks and other deposit-takers as data holders.

They also classify certain information about bank and other accounts as designated customer data, and specify certain payments as designated actions.

They propose that accredited requesters comply with requirements for making information available and that they must inform a chief executive if they are likely to become insolvent or be declared bankrupt.

Submissions are due by August 29, 2025.

US Focus On Stablecoins Leaves It An Outlier As CBDCs Proliferate

As interest in the potential of digital assets grows, regulators and traditional financial institutions are seeking ways to safely and securely adopt the positive features of cryptocurrencies, while offering protections from their worst excesses.

This involves harnessing the speed and transparency of blockchain transactions without the extreme volatility or exposure to criminal activity associated with crypto.

Two of the most prominent means of bringing digital assets into everyday use are stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Most jurisdictions are exploring both options, with stablecoin regulations being introduced or considered in the US, Hong Kong, Bahrain, the UK, the EU and beyond.

The Bahamas, Jamaica and Nigeria have led the way by launching official digital currencies.

Meanwhile, the EU, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Russia are advancing preparations for their own CBDCs, each with distinct motivations for adopting this form of central bank money.

The notable exception is the US, which has taken a strongly anti-CBDC stance since the Trump administration took office.

Instead, it is focusing on bringing existing cryptocurrencies into the mainstream, initially by introducing a regulatory framework for the use of stablecoins.

According to the Atlantic Council’s CBDC tracker, 137 countries and currency unions, representing 98% of global GDP, are exploring a CBDC, up from just 35 in 2020.

In addition, it notes that 72 countries are in the advanced stages of developing a CBDC, meaning the development, pilot or launch phase.

This highlights the US as a significant outlier – so what are other jurisdictions seeking in CBDCs?

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