.svg)
- Worldline Secures Future UK Market Presence Following FCA Authorisation
- Have Your Say On DORA, Says European Commission
- Hong Kong Launches Faster Payment System Suspicious Proxy ID Alert
- Dutch Banks Issue Guidelines To Tackle Sex Worker De-Risking
- EU Council Adopts New Law On Harmonised Data Rules
- Hong Kong Launches Anti-Deception Alliance Between Banks, Law Enforcement
- European Payments Council Publishes SPAA Business Terms
- EBA Consults On Crypto Transfer Guidelines
Worldline Secures Future UK Market Presence Following FCA Authorisation
Worldline has announced that it has been granted payment institution authorisation by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
This means that it can continue its operations in the UK after the FCA's Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR) expires later this year.
“Worldline is committed to playing an important role in the post-Brexit payments landscape of the UK,” said Lee Jones, CEO of Worldline Merchant Services UK.
“I am proud that we have been granted our new licence, which guarantees an even stronger presence in the UK market.
"Paramount for our local service scope and excellence, it sets us apart from many international competitors by bolstering our presence and enhancing our service capabilities, while providing more choice for UK merchants."
Have Your Say On DORA, Says European Commission
The European Commission has opened a consultation on requirements in the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) until December 14.
This is due to the draft delegated regulation that will be in place from January 17, 2025.
To address potential systemic and concentration risks posed by the financial sectors’ reliance on a small number of third-party providers of information communication technology (ICT) services, DORA introduces an EU oversight framework for ICT critical third-party service providers (CTPPs).
It empowers the European Commission to further specify the criteria for determining whether a third-party provider of ICT services is critical for the financial sector.
Furthermore, to ensure that the national regulators have the necessary resources to effectively conduct oversight tasks, DORA empowers them to charge fees to each designated CTPP to cover all the expenditures incurred in relation to the conduct of oversight tasks.
The feedback that the commission is seeking links to these areas.
Hong Kong Launches Faster Payment System Suspicious Proxy ID Alert
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has launched a new Faster Payment System (FPS) Suspicious Proxy ID Alert system, designed to help FPS users manage fraud risks.
The alert system is based on information available from the Scameter, an anti-fraud search engine developed by the Hong Kong Police Force and launched in October last year.
All FPS participants that provide real-time fund transfer services to personal users where FPS proxy IDs are used, including a total of 44 banks and store-value facilities (SVFs), have launched the Suspicious Proxy ID Alert.
Users will be alerted of the high risk of fraud if the payee’s FPS proxy ID (mobile number, email address or FPS Identifier) falls within the list of proxy IDs labelled as “High Risk” on Scameter.
An alert message will then be displayed to users, reminding them to think twice before deciding whether to continue with the payment or cancel the transaction.
Dutch Banks Issue Guidelines To Tackle Sex Worker De-Risking
The Dutch Banking Association has adopted a new Sector Standard to help sex workers get access to payment accounts.
This has taken place after negotiations with the central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, and representatives of the sex work industry.
According to the association, sex workers have experienced problems opening and maintaining business bank accounts because a lot of payments are made in cash.
This makes it difficult to recognise when a payment is unusual and may be related to money laundering.
Going forward, the Sector Standard specifies that banks may use sex workers' tax returns to determine where their income comes from.
So if a sex worker, in addition to accounting and registration with the Chamber of Commerce, can submit the income tax return, or if this is not yet available, the VAT return, this will make it easier to open a bank account.
"You cannot do business without a bank account,” said Helène Erftemeijer, sector coordinator for anti-money laundering.
“I am therefore pleased that with this Sector Standard, we are making arranging banking matters easier for sex workers.”
EU Council Adopts New Law On Harmonised Data Rules
The European Council has adopted a new regulation on harmonised rules regarding fair access to and use of data.
The Data Act imposes obligations on manufacturers and service providers to let their users access and reuse the data generated by the use of their products or services. It also allows users to share that data with third parties.
The new law also aims to ease the switching between providers of data processing services. It also puts in place safeguards against unlawful data transfer and provides for the development of interoperability standards for data to be reused between sectors.
Subsequent to the Council's approval, the law will enter into the Official Journal of the EU in the coming weeks, and will come into force after the 20th day.
Most of its rules shall apply from 20 months from the date of its entry into force.
Hong Kong Launches Anti-Deception Alliance Between Banks, Law Enforcement
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), with the support of the central bank and the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB), has launched a new initiative known as the Anti-Deception Alliance (ADA).
The ADA aims to improve Hong Kong’s anti-money laundering ecosystem to detect, disrupt and deter scams. It will also strengthen the effectiveness of Hong Kong’s 24/7 stop payment mechanism operated by the HKPF.
By bringing together officers of the police’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre and staff of ten participating banks, the ADA aims to identify potential victims of scams and intercept crime proceeds rapidly.
“The integrated work environment of ADA, together with analytics capabilities of banks driven by our work in AML/CFT Regtech, will boost intelligence sharing, enable swift decision-making and close cooperation among all stakeholders,” said the central bank.
European Payments Council Publishes SPAA Business Terms
The European Payments Council (EPC) has published the business conditions for the SEPA Payment Account Access (SPAA) scheme.
This provides a default remuneration model for those partaking in the scheme.
“Together with various stakeholders, we are creating the right conditions for a vibrant European ecosystem for open banking,” said Gijs Boudewijn, managing director of the Dutch Payments Association and co-chair of the SPAA Multi-Stakeholder Group (SPAA MSG).
SPAA includes rules and agreements for account information services and payment initiation services with added value — "premium" — services.
Banks can offer these premium services to to third-party providers.
EBA Consults On Crypto Transfer Guidelines
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched a public consultation on new guidelines for preventing the abuse of funds and certain crypto-assets transfers for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes.
Stakeholders have until February 26 to respond to these guidelines, which specify the steps that payment service providers and crypto-asset service providers should take to detect missing or incomplete information that accompanies a transfer of funds or crypto-assets.
The guidelines also detail the procedures that these providers should put in place to manage a transfer of funds or a transfer of crypto-assets that lacks the required information.
The EBA will also hold a virtual public hearing on the consultation paper on January 17, which stakeholders can sign up to here.
