In our 34th episode of PayTechTalk I talked with my colleague Christian about the licence types for payment service providers. Upon hearing this podcast, Marko Wenthin, one of the co-founders of SolarisBank, asked us to talk in more detail about application for authorization and in particular about directors, qualifying holdings, and capital requirements, as it […]
The hype surrounding ICOs has cooled down a bit of late, but now Germany is seeing its first Security Token Offering from Bitbond Finance GmbH. What is behind it? How is it different to an ICO? In order to answer these and other questions, let’s take a closer look at the topic. A Security Token […]
A new response by the EBA in their Q&A tool may have a huge impact on the future of online SEPA direct debit payments. When asked if strong customer authentication (SCA) has to be applied to the electronic processing of online SEPA direct debit payments, the EBA responded that the setting up of such a […]
A heated debate has been going on for years as to whether account information services providers (AISP) and payment initiation services providers (PISP) and card based payment instrument issuers (CBPII) may use screen scraping as a means of accessing the payment user’s account at their payment account service provider (ASPSP). With PSD2 and more specifically, […]
Identity management and strong customer authentication are the talk of the day. However, the terminology is more than confusing. For example, customers need to be identified for the purposes of AML, they need to authorize a payment, and when authenticating themselves, it is checked whether they are actually the person they pretend to be. I […]
The German Payment Accounts Act (Zahlungskontengesetz, ZKG) already entered into force in 2016. The key part of the law is the basic account, which gives people living in the EU the right to an account with basic functions. This also applies to refugees and in order to ensure this, even the Anti-Money Laundering Act was […]
Simple Language is important. Many people need Simple Language in order to understand everything. Only if you understand everything, can you participate everywhere.* One usually only comes across Simple Language on websites of public authorities. And now also on PayPal. What is Simple Language and how does it contribute to accessibility? Who is the […]
As is often the case with people like James Bond, agents in payments law are difficult to come by. This area of law is obscure and more difficult to understand. In addition to this, particularities in German law make it less harmonized and even more difficult to comprehend. Now, it is time to blow their […]
The German regulator BaFin lately issued a very narrow interpretation of the BaFin intra-group exemption. However, if group companies are able to meet certain requirements they shall now be able to rely on the intra-group exemption and will not need a payment license. In its circular regarding the German Payment Services Supervisory Act (ZAG), BaFin […]
A “hard Brexit” unless there’s agreement on a transition period Brexit is scheduled for March 2019 unless there is agreement between the EU and the UK on a later withdrawal of the UK from the Single European Market. Part of the withdrawal agreement would be a transition period during which European Union law would remain […]