News & Resources

    News

    The Wolfsberg Group FAQs on NNS

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    An effective financial crime framework is built from an effective and appropriate screening program for
    Read More >
    FCA proposes stronger protection for consumers in financial markets

    New FCA powers to speed up cancellation of unused permissions

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    The Financial Conduct Authority has announced that it will use new powers to speed up
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    The FCA review on challenger banks – key takeaways

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    An FCA-conducted review has found that challenger banks will need to improve the ways in
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    The FCA implements a 3-year strategy

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    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in its ongoing mission to enforce regulation that protects consumers
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    The role of innovation led by the FCA

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    As technology advances year by year, it’s important to reassess technology’s effect on financial services.
    Read More >

    Operational resilience: The impact that Russia has caused

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    On Thursday February 24th, Russia invaded Ukraine. A lot of things changed that day. Over
    Read More >
    Notice to all FCA regulated firms with exposure to cryptoassets

    FCA notice to all regulated firms with exposure to cryptoassets

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    The FCA has issued reminders to all regulated firms of their existing obligations when interacting
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    What are the 8 elements of a compliance program?

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    Any business will need a compliance program. They help run an effective and ethical business.
    Read More >

    FCA Update and Feedback on Operational Resilience

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    The FCA has provided a key update to their operational resilience protocol with an aim
    Read More >

    FCA’s expectation for Heads of Compliance and MLROs

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    One of the most important roles in a registered firm is that of the Head
    Read More >
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    Resources

    The registration process for SEMIs is cheaper and more straightforward than authorisation for Authorised E-Money Institutions (AEMIs), however there are additional restrictions placed on the activities of SEMIs.

    The FCA would require similar information to an AEMI application but in less detail and would pay close attention to the skills and experience of the business’ senior team.

    • A SEMI’s average outstanding e-money must never exceed €5 million.
    • There are no passporting rights. SEMI’s products can only be offered within the UK.
    • SEMIs can provide unrelated payment services but only if the average monthly total of payment transactions does not exceed €3 million, on a rolling 12 month basis.

    To determine their capital requirements, SEMIs are split into two categories. For those whose average outstanding e-money is less than €500,000 and who do not predict their average to reach that point, there is no minimum capital requirement.

    For those whose average falls above that limit, there is a minimum capital requirement of 2% of their average outstanding e-money.

    The FCA charge application fees as well as on-going supervision fees for authorised entities.

    In addition, there are minimum requirements for on-going capital for authorised firms, although not all SEMIs will be required to meet minimum capital requirements (see above).