EMA conferences

The Electronic Money Association (EMA) held its 3rd Conference on ‘The European Payment Services Directive and Global Developments in Payments Regulation’ on 24 November 2009 at the London Marriott Hotel West India Quay.

The payments framework in the US is undergoing huge changes at the moment, and both Japan and Russia are a new framework is being developed in Russia and Japan. Speakers described developments, and the opportunities that the different regimes provide. A further key theme was the effect of the credit crunch on regulatory attitudes generally.

The conference also focused on the practical impact of the European Payment Services Directive, and several payment service providers described the process of implementing local regulations, and the expected role of payment institutions in the coming years. We reviewed the recently published and revised Electronic Money Directive, and explored the expanded role of issuers under this regime.

Speakers included:

• Evgeniya Zavalishina, general manager, Yandex.Money
• Helmut Bauer, previously head of banking supervision at Bafin and head of global regulatory affairs at Deutsche Bank
• Stephen Middlebrook, senior counsel, US Department of Treasury
• Taiji Inui, NTT Data Corporation, previously head of payments policy, Bank of Japan
• William Lorenz, banking and compliance director, Ixaris

A printable version of the conference programme (.pdf 874Kb).

The 2nd EMA Conference on ‘The Future of Payments in Europe’, took place on 28 and 29 November 2007 at the Marriot West India Quay hotel in London. It focused on the forthcoming implementation by European member states of the Payment Services Directive. It brought together regulators and industry representatives for a discussion of the challenges member states face during implementation. The most significant issue to have come out of the conference was the need for a synchronised approach, providing a consistent legal regime for products. The flexible approach that the Directive provides for member state discretion, needed to be balanced against the need for a uniform consumer experience and legal clarity for service providers.

Discussions were had on the prudential framework for Payment Institutions, the likely time frames, membership for PI’s of payment schemes, including the card schemes, and the contribution of this new regime to competition and consumer value.

The relative advantages of treating micro enterprises as consumers were set out, and the UKdescribed the rationale for this proposal, and the limited ability of these businesses to influence contractual terms offered by payment service providers.

The scope of payment services received much attention as did the liability and obligations of PSP’s and the varying disclosure obligations set out in Titles III and IV of the Directive.

Participants had numerous opportunities to discuss issues of concern with others, be they fellow service providers, regulators or service provider professionals. It closed on the second day, with a free ranging debate on the future of payments, and the likely contribution of the new regime to these changes.

A printable version of the conference programme

The 1st EMA conference on ‘The Revision of the E-money Directive’, took place on 9 February 2006 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Brussels. The conference brought together regulators, industry and European Parliament representatives to discuss and review the E-Money experience of working with the Directive, and means of evolution.

A printable version of the conference programme.