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2025 regulatory activity in Europe was defined more by the weight of implementation than the adoption of new regulation. As the industry grappled with the operational realities of implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (Markets in Crypto-Assets - MiCA) and Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 (Digital Operational Resilience Act - DORA), a deceptively calm period transpired as the long and varied path to implementation began. For financial institutions, however, 2026 will be about more than just managing the regulatory load as Europe moves into another adoption phase. It will also require building capabilities to deal with diverging geopolitical paths and technological shifts. It will be about surviving and thriving during a period of intense adjustment where compliance is no longer a back-office function, but a core strategic pillar.

The intergovernmental organisation advocates strengthening legal frameworks and boosting information sharing to address artificial intelligence (AI)-driven fraud, in response to rapid increases in both the volume and sophistication of criminal activity.

This Outlook examines how organisations can respond to the rapid and fundamental changes to anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) frameworks anticipated in key jurisdictions around the world.

Operational resilience is the ability of an institution to deliver critical operations through disruptions. This regulatory influencer examines operational resilience standards in the EU and UK, alongside those in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia, while benchmarking each jurisdiction’s approach against the EU's requirements.

As the authorities implement the National Payments Vision (NPV) and extend the regulatory perimeter to ensure consumer protection in newer areas of the system, compliance teams face a wave of new obligations.

On October 30, 2023, the European Union published Directive (EU) 2023/2225 (Consumer Credit 2 – CCD2) in the Official Journal of the European Union. Subsequently, on May 19, 2025, the UK government launched a consultation on proposed reforms to the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA). Given the upcoming November 20, 2026 application date of CCD2, the July 15, 2026 application date of the UK’s deferred payment credit (DPC) regime and the expected phase 2 consultation of the UK rules, this regulatory influencer will examine the necessity of the changes, the jurisdictional approaches, as well as provide a comparison of the two.

Payments firms in the UK should see greater clarity and feel less regulatory burden, but must ensure their adoption of technology enables real-time, data-led compliance that supports consumer protection and operational resilience.

This Regulatory Framework - European Union Report provides a detailed overview of European Union legislations which apply to financial services. The report contains: A legislative landscape. The authorities framework. Definitions. Upcoming legislation. A regulatory landscape.

The war is acting as a catalyst for increasing digitisation and data sovereignty, with efficiency becoming less of a priority than resilience in the context of state-sponsored cyber targeting of critical infrastructure.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new safeguarding rules will come into effect on May 7, 2026. The upcoming changes will only relate to the interim rules introduced in the August 2025 policy statement (PS25/12) under the “Supplementary Regime”, which enhances safeguarding requirements under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (EMRs) and the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (PSRs).