Latest Payments News: EBA Flags Widespread White Labelling Across EU Banks And Payment Firms, 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.

EBA Flags Widespread White Labelling Across EU Banks And Payment Firms

With white labelling now commonplace in the EU financial landscape, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has signalled that 2026 will mark the start of systematic supervisory mapping of the practice across the bloc.

In a report on the subject, the banking regulator said that 35 percent of banks responding to its 2025 Spring Risk Assessment Questionnaire engage in white-labelling arrangements, a trend increasingly driven by digitalisation and platform-based business models.

Traditionally used between banks, the practice – when a company creates a product or service that another company rebrands and sells as its own – now often involves partnerships with non-financial firms such as online marketplaces, telecom operators and retailers.

White labelling allows a financial institution to supply regulated products, such as payment accounts, e-money or credit that are distributed under a partner’s brand.

The EBA suggested that the model is a way of improving access to financial services and competition. However, it warned that it also introduces new risks to the market, especially around transparency, consumer protection and supervisory visibility.

FSB Warns Of Significant Inconsistencies In Global Crypto And Stablecoin Regulation

Gaps in the implementation of the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) recommendations are creating compliance challenges and legal uncertainty, as well as permitting regulatory arbitrage and weakening global oversight.

In a review published in October 2025, the FSB highlighted significant regulatory gaps and inconsistencies in how countries are implementing its global framework for crypto-assets and stablecoins.

It warned that these shortcomings could undermine financial stability and the development of a resilient digital asset ecosystem.

The board noted that although jurisdictions have made progress in bringing crypto-asset activities under regulatory oversight, the implementation of rules for global stablecoin arrangements (GSCs) is proceeding more slowly.

Even where frameworks exist, alignment with FSB recommendations remains limited, particularly in areas relating to stablecoin governance and oversight of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs).

“Implementation progress remains incomplete, uneven and inconsistent. This creates opportunities for regulatory arbitrage and complicates oversight of the inherently global and evolving crypto-asset market”, said Arthur Yuen, deputy chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and chair of the team that prepared the report.

The review evaluates progress across FSB jurisdictions and several volunteer non-members as of August 2025, assessing the extent to which countries have implemented the FSB’s 2023 recommendations covering CASPs, stablecoin arrangements, data reporting and cross-border cooperation.

The uneven and inconsistent implementation of the FSB’s recommendations potentially leaves stablecoin issuers and CASPs facing a fragmented global regulatory landscape.

Firms operating across borders need to navigate overlapping or conflicting rules, such as classification as payment providers in one jurisdiction, securities issuers in another or remaining unregulated elsewhere.

As much as it means there are gaps in the strictness of different jurisdictions, it also creates significant compliance challenges and legal uncertainty.

Debate Continues As PSR Drops Interim Cap On Cross-Border Interchange Fees

The UK regulator’s shift away from a temporary cap signals a more deliberate regulatory approach, balancing legal challenges, operational risks and market stability as it works toward a lasting solution.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has decided not to proceed with an interim cap on UK-European Economic Area (EEA) cross-border interchange fees. Instead, it plans to focus on implementing a single, permanent cap once a robust methodology for setting it has been finalised.

In a statement, the regulator said that although its 2024 market review concluded that capping these fees was the only effective way to mitigate harm to merchants and consumers, it felt that this approach was not the most appropriate course of action.

“We have decided that the most effective and pragmatic manner to give effect to this conclusion is to implement such a cap in only one step, once our work to determine an appropriate level for UK-EEA cross-border interchange fees has concluded,” the PSR said.

“We now consider it more effective to proceed with a cap only after we have developed a robust methodology and carried out analysis to determine the appropriate level for UK-EEA cross-border interchange fees.”

UK And US Target APP Fraud At Source With Sanctions On Transnational Scam Network

The joint action against an online fraud network operating across Southeast Asia represents a new approach to tackling online and telecommunications scams and may pave the way for greater cross-border cooperation.

The coordinated action targets individuals and organisations accused of running large-scale scam operations, including links to human trafficking and torture.

These include Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi and his conglomerate Prince Group, along with affiliated companies allegedly involved in building and operating scam compounds and laundering proceeds through offshore structures and high-value property investments in London.

The UK government reports that the network has defrauded victims worldwide through sophisticated online scams, including fake investment and romance schemes.

Many individuals involved in the fraud are believed to be trafficked workers, coerced into conducting scams under threat of violence in compounds across Cambodia, Myanmar, and neighbouring countries.

“The masterminds behind these horrific scam centres are ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money,” said Yvette Cooper, the UK’s foreign secretary.

FCA Partnership And TechSprints Aim To Accelerate UK Open Finance Rollout

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to accelerate the UK’s transition from open banking to open finance, potentially unlocking a more efficient and competitive market.

Announcing the initiatives, the regulator said they represent a major step towards its open finance roadmap and strategy, scheduled for publication by March 2026.

This follows the FCA’s January letter to the UK Prime Minister on economic growth, which outlined its commitment to “use our powers to develop open finance,” with a potential focus on supporting small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending.

The FCA said it has launched a Smart Data Accelerator, an extension of its regulatory sandbox, to test real-world use cases of open finance. The accelerator will allow firms to trial data-sharing solutions in a secure environment.

As part of the initiative, the FCA has partnered with Raidiam, a UK-based firm whose technology has supported open finance and open insurance frameworks in Brazil. Through this collaboration, participants will gain access to Raidiam’s testing environment to simulate and validate data sharing in practice.

The regulator said this would enable firms to develop “smart data solutions that are safe, secure, and designed to benefit people and communities.”

In support of the initiative, the FCA also commissioned KPMG and Europe Economics to assess the potential benefits of open finance for consumers and the wider financial services sector.

Their report highlights that although open banking has made payments and banking more accessible, open finance could extend these benefits to a broader range of financial products.

However, it also notes that regulators will need to manage trade-offs around data sharing, technology readiness and consumer protection.

‍

Want to know more? 

Request a demo with one of our experts today to gain full access to the stories we cover - and much more - and start learning how you can make compliance a competitive advantage for your organisation.