Publications and events

The EMA responded to the FCA Consultation GC 16/5: Proposed guidance on wind-down planning on 25 July 2016.

View the full response here

The EMA submitted a response Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Provisional Remedies for the Retail Banking Market Investigation on 20 July 2016.

View the full response here

On Monday 4 July we submitted evidence to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee responsible for scrutinizing the Finance Bill 2016.

New proposed legislation has been incorporated into the Finance Bill 2016 that will give HMRC the power to gather payments data from payment service providers and online “business intermediaries” on their customers – both businesses and consumers. HMRC want to increase tax revenue by gathering data to aid in the capturing of unreported income (the “hidden economy”), a goal that the EMA supports.  

However, this aim should not be to the detriment of consumers’ rights to the protection of their data. The proposals as set out in Clause 164 of the Finance Bill 2016 give rise to broader powers than those set out in the explanatory notes, resulting in a law that is heavily disproportionate in relation to the intended result. The new powers are drafted in such a way as to give the impression that HMRC will be making targeted requests for data from data-holders on an ad-hoc basis. However, in reality they will require data holders to report all relevant data on a quarterly basis, potentially moving to monthly basis in the near future, and they may require them to report on all accounts, regardless as to whether they are consumer or business accounts. In addition to this, there are no in-built safeguards on how the data will be used in future.

The data collection powers being proposed are not sufficiently limited: the scope of what data can be collected, and the definition of whose data can be collected are broad, collection will be periodic – annually or even monthly, and the data, once collected, may be used for any purpose. These proposed powers are compounded by the recent introduction of the UK government’s draft Digital Economy Bill, which will allow HMRC to share data with other bodies.

Below we have set out our concerns in further detail.

Evidence for Finance Bill 2016 Clause 164. Electronic Money Association

The EMA responded to a previous consultation: https://emaprd.wpengine.com/blog/ema-response-to-hmrc-consultation-on-extension-of-data-gathering-powers

EMA responds to 4MLD implementation consultation in Lithuania

The EMA submitted a response to Lithuanian consultation on their draft law implementing the 4MLD on 8 July, which concentrated on the implementation of CDD and local point of contact provisions.

We welcomed the implementation of specific e-money thresholds under Article 15 and the reference to any low-risk situations that may qualify for SDD under European guidance. However, we expressed our expectation for it to be made clear that both identification and verification may be postponed within the limits set by Article 15(1) (7).

As Lithuania proposed not to make use of the national optional threshold of EUR 500 for non-reloadable e-money products, we emphasised the importance of taking advantage of this option, in order for the e-money industry to continue providing solutions to the financially excluded and those with limited means.

Regarding the requirement for a local point of contact for each issuer physically distributing products in Lithuania, we set out why this requirement would not be an appropriate means of exercising control over passporting EMIs.

Find more details of the EMA response here.

The EMA submitted a response to the PSR Phase 2 Draft Guidance on the monitoring and enforcing of the IFR on 8 July 2016.

We sought two objectives, requesting:

(i) clarification regarding when issuers are expected to issue co-badged cards, and

(ii) that the PSR withdraw their requirement to label corporate cards under three different labels, instead of a single “corporate” label.

The final consolidated PSR Guidance, published on 5 October, was amended in line with the our proposals:

• there will be no requirement to co-badge cards if this not a service the issuer already offers, and
• issuers will be able to label all corporate cards with one label rather than separately distinguishing corporate cards between debit, credit and prepaid.

Details of the response can be found here.

PSR’s consultation on the application of the Interchange Fees Regulation

The EMA submitted a response to the PSR Phase 2 Draft Guidance on the monitoring and enforcing of the IFR on 8 July 2016.

We sought two objectives, requesting:

(i) clarification regarding when issuers are expected to issue co-badged cards, and

(ii) that the PSR withdraw their requirement to label corporate cards under three different labels, instead of a single “corporate” label.

The final consolidated PSR Guidance, published on 5 October, was amended in line with the our proposals:

• there will be no requirement to co-badge cards if this not a service the issuer already offers, and
• issuers will be able to label all corporate cards with one label rather than separately distinguishing corporate cards between debit, credit and prepaid.

Details of the response can be found here.