Introduction The European Union (“EU”) is currently undergoing a significant reform within its payment services framework. This development is reflected in the proposed Third Payment Services Directive (“PSD3”) and the accompanying Payment
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Open banking has always carried a paradox between the promise of revolutionary innovation shadowed by the practical and legal challenges of implementation. PSD2 opened the door to third-party providers, enabling fintechs to aggregate accounts, ini
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Fraud has always been the shadow lurking at the edges of digital payments, but the Payment Services Directive II (“PSD 2”)’s introduction of strong customer authentication seemed, at first, to have turned the corner. Yet reality proved less
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For a decade, the European payment services landscape has been defined by tension posed by the desire to open markets to innovation and competition, counterbalanced by the imperative to protect consumers and maintain financial stability. Directive
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In the operation of payment institutions, safeguarding client funds is a fundamental regulatory requirement. Traditionally, this has been achieved through the segregation of client funds in separate accounts. However, Maltese law recognises altern
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On 19th August 2025 the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has published the findings of a thematic review into compliance of Financial Institutions with the Payment Account Regulations (SL 371.18). The review focused on the three I
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The European Central Bank ("ECB")has recently issued an Occasional Paper entitled "In search for stability in crypto-assets: are stablecoins the solution?" (the "Paper"). The Paper provides a description of stablecoin
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