.svg)
PSR Clears CASS
The UK's Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is satisfied that the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) still justifies its classification as an alternative switching scheme. This is the result of a review of information and evidence submitted by Pay.UK, CASS' operator, for the purpose of an annual assessment.
HM Treasury appointed the PSR as the authority to "designate" alternative switching schemes and to keep them in line with the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015.
It must ensure that the switching scheme is clearly in the interests of the consumer, does not impose upon the consumer any burden additional to those imposed by paragraphs 2 to 6 of Schedule 3 of the regulations and ensures that the procedure for switching is completed within 12 working days.
The PSR first classified CASS as an alternative switching scheme in September 2016, checking its worthiness every year subsequently.
Biden Picks New OCC Head
News reports abound that U.S. President Joe Biden is going to pick Cornell law professor Saule Omarova as the next head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Omarova used to work at the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell before she became a scholar.
Omarova has a reputation as a stiff critic of cryptocurrencies and the press is interpreting her nomination as another sign that U.S. regulators are cooling in their attitudes towards the phenomenon. She has also expressed a desire to "end banking as we know it."
The acting comptroller of the currency is Michael Hsu, who also critcized cryptocurrencies recently in a speech before the Blockchain Association.
"Innovation for innovation’s sake ... risks creating a mountain of fool’s gold. I have seen one fool’s gold rush from up close in the lead up to the 2008 financial crisis. It feels like we may be on the cusp of another with cryptocurrencies (crypto) and decentralized finance (DeFi). The 2008 crisis holds lessons that can help industry and regulators chart a better path and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
