Payments, E-Money And Crypto-Assets Quarterly Legal And Regulatory Update: 1 January 2024 – 31 March 2024 – Financial Services

1. PAYMENTS

1.1. European Parliament’s ECON adopts reports on
proposed PSD3 and PSR

On 14 February 2024, the European Parliament’s Economic and
Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) issued a press
release to announce that it had adopted its position at first
reading on the European Commission’s proposals for a Regulation
on payment services in the internal market (PSR)
and for a Directive on payment services and electronic money
services in the internal market (PSD3).

The European Parliament is expected to vote on the ECON position
during its first plenary session in April 2024. Negotiations
between European Parliament and the Council of the European Union
(EU) on the proposals will then occur after the
Parliamentary elections.

ECON’s press release summarises the focus of PSR and PSD3 as
follows:

• Protection for payment service users from fraud and misuse of
  data;




• Transparency of fees and charges for payment services;




• Creating a level playing field between banks and non-bank
  payment service providers; and




• Provisions to improve access to cash, especially in remote or
  rural areas.

A copy of ECON’s report on PSR can be accessed here.

A copy of ECON’s report on PSD3 can be accessed here.

A copy of ECON’s press release can be accessed here.

For more information on the PSR and PSD3 proposals more
generally, please refer to our Q2 2023 QLU which can be accessed here.

2. DIGITAL FINANCE & CRYPTO-ASSETS

2.1 ESMA publishes further consultations on draft
guidelines under MiCA

On 29 January 2024, the European Securities and Markets
Authority (ESMA) published the following
consultation papers (together, the Draft
Guidelines) which set out draft guidelines on the
Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (the Markets in Crypto Assets
Regulation or MiCA).

The consultations on the Draft Guidelines close on 29 April 2024
and responses can be submitted here.

2.2 ESMA updates Q&As on MiCA

On 2 February 2024, ESMA published a press release to announce
that it had updated its Questions and Answers
(Q&A) document on MiCA, with updates made in
relation to the following topics:

• New CASPs established before (and after) 30 December 2024;




• Passporting rights for entities benefiting from
  grandfathering;




• Prohibition of monetary and non-monetary benefits;




• Provision of crypto-asset services by credit institutions;
  and




• Notifications under Article 60.

A copy of ESMA’s press release on new Q&As available can
be accessed here.

The updated Q&A can be accessed in the ESMA Q&A IT-tool
which can be accessed here.

2.3 European Commission adopts four delegated
regulations under MiCA

On 22 February 2024, the European Commission published four
delegated regulations (Delegated Regulations)
which supplement MiCA, as follows:

• Commission Delegated Regulation (C(2024)897) specifying the
  fees charged by the European Baking Authority
  (EBA) to issuers of significant asset-referenced
  tokens (ARTs) and issuers of significant e-money
  tokens (EMTs)

  The text of this Delegated Regulation can be accessed here.




• Commission Delegated Regulation (C(2024)898) specifying the
  procedural rules for the exercise of the power to impose fines or
  periodic penalty payments by the EBA on issuers of significant ARTs
  and issuers of significant EMTs

  The text of this Delegated Regulation can be accessed here.




• Commission Delegated Regulation (C(2024)906) specifying certain
  criteria for classifying ARTs and EMTs as significant

  The text of this Delegated Regulation can be accessed here.




• Commission Delegated Regulation (C(2024)907) specifying the
  criteria and factors to be taken into account by ESMA, the EBA and
  competent authorities in relation to their intervention
  powers

  The text of this Delegated Regulation can be accessed here.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament will now
scrutinise the Delegated Regulations before they will be published
in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ).

2.4 EBA publishes consultation paper on guidelines on
redemption plans under MiCA

On 8 March 2024, the EBA published a consultation paper
(EBA/CP/2024/09) on draft guidelines on redemption plans under
Articles 47 and 55 of MiCA.

The draft guidelines set out proposed guidance for issuers of
asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and issuers of
e-money tokens (EMTs) when drafting their
redemption plans. Issuers of ARTs and EMTs are required to develop
a redemption plan to ensure the orderly redemption of the tokens
when a competent authority assesses that the issuer is unable or
likely to be unable to fulfil its obligations.

The public consultation is open until 10 June 2024. Responses to
the consultation can be submitted here.

MiCA will become applicable for issuers of ARTs and EMTs on 30
June 2024.

The consultation paper can be accessed here.

Footnote

1. Directive (EU) 2014/65

To view the full article click here

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.

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