payment systems – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

Good News for Fintechs: Taiwan Announces Plans to Streamline Payments Regulations

Nov 23 2020

In an effort to promote the use of electronic payments and develop its fintech industries, Taiwan’s financial regulator has moved to combine the existing legal regime governing payment institutions and electronic money by proposing an amendment to the Act Governing Electronic Payment Institutions. The proposed amendment seeks both to cope with the disappearing line between physical cards, electronic stored-value cards and virtual, app-based services, while expanding the businesses that electronic payment institutions can do. Click here for more information.

The OCC’S ANPR on Digital Banking: Is this a Harbinger for Digital and Open Banking in the US?

Jun 19 2020

By Judie Rinearson, John ReVeal and Stan Ragalevsky

The office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on June 3, 2020, focusing on digital banking activities. Typically such ANPRs are a precursor to new federal regulation; following collection of data from the industry and other interested parties, the OCC may propose new regulations by issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking within 6-12 months. Responses to the ANPR are due on August 3, 2020.

Expanding Your Fintech/Payments Business to the U.S.

Mar 31 2020

By Judie Rinearson, Daniel Knight and Daniel Atkin

With Australia joining the boom in new and innovative Fintechs around the world, our challenger banks, payments businesses and Fintechs have gained global recognition.

While entering into the lucrative U.S market is enticing, it can also be a daunting concept for those without insider knowledge.

K&L Gates’ New York Fintech partner Judie Rinearson, was able to provide us with the information necessary for making the transition, successfully.

The RBA Gets Punitive: Penalties Recommended for Delaying New Payments Platform Participants

Jun 28 2019

By Jim Bulling and Charles McDonald

On 13 June 2019, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released its paper into the New Payments Platform’s Functionality and Access (Paper). In it, the RBA expressed disappointment with the slow roll out of New Payments Platform’s (NPP) services and functionality. As a consequence, the RBA will continue to push the major banks to prioritise the roll-out of services to their customers to address functionality gaps as quickly as possible. The Paper also recommends that NPP Australia Ltd (as operator of the platform) should:

Starbucks – a trust legitimiser for blockchain?

Feb 01 2018

By Cameron Abbott and Samantha Tyrrell

In a recent quarterly investor call, Starbucks’ Chairman Howard Schultz discussed the possibility of incorporating blockchain technology into Starbucks’ impressive digital repertoire.

Starbucks’ commitment to being a first mover when it comes to disruptive technology has already resulted in the hugely successful implementation of its mobile payment app, launched in 2015. The app allows users to order, pay and accrue rewards remotely and now accounts for nearly one third of Starbucks’ US transactions. According to Schultz, these figures may warrant a move towards integrating some entirely cashless stores throughout the US.

Adapt or die, the reality for retail banks during a digital revolution

Mar 26 2017

By Cameron Abbott and Giles Whittaker

Traditional banking is a thing of the past, at least according to 203 senior retail banking executives surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

According to an Economist Intelligence Unit report for Temenos, the EU’s Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), which will force banks to provide interfaces, APIs and data to third parties, is set to “tip the scales between banks and FinTechs for customer loyalty.” More than half of financial transactions will be made through FinTech companies rather than traditional retail banks by 2020, as the latest EU payments directive unleashes competition.

Competition concerns in the payment systems market

Jan 16 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has found that Mastercard’s acquisition of VocaLink gives rise to UK competition/anti-trust concerns. Mastercard UK Holdco Ltd, a subsidiary of Mastercard International Incorporated (Mastercard), is buying VocaLink Holdings Ltd (VocaLink).

Mastercard already owns and operates credit and debit card schemes Mastercard, Maestro and Cirrus, and has also bid to supply infrastructure services to UK interbank payment systems. VocaLink is a supplier of payment infrastructure services to three major UK interbank payment systems:

Bacs, the automated clearing system allowing credit and debit payments between bank accounts;
the Faster Payments Service (FPS), which enables near ‘real-time’ payments between bank accounts within the UK; and
the LINK ATM network.

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