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Mario Mizzi

St James Cavalier Web Dome
DORA is Now in Force: What’s Next? DORAFinTechTelecoms, Media & Technology

DORA is Now in Force: What’s Next?

Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on digital operational resilience for the financial sector (“DORA” or the “Act”) became enforceable as of 17th January 2025. DORA Resources As highlighted in various DORA insights by our Firm over the last few months (including a very useful overview of DORA itself), DORA represents a significant milestone in aligning the financial services sector with the EU’s digital finance strategy, offering a regulatory framework for operational resilience and ICT risk management. Designed to bolster operational resilience against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, DORA ushers in a new era…
Mario Mizzi
17th January 2025
Fintech Insights 9
Fintech Insights #9 –
Tokenisation in Malta FinTech

Fintech Insights #9 –
Tokenisation in Malta

Tokenisation is the process of converting legal rights of a real-world-asset (“RWA”) into a digital token that is recorded on a decentralised ledger. Asset-referenced tokens (“ARTs”) can tokenise physical assets such as buildings and commodities; or intangible assets including bonds, equities, intellectual property, quarrying/mining rights or renewable energy credits. ARTs provide a decentralised and transparent way to manage and transfer ownership. The process often involves the use of smart contracts, which automate and enforce the terms of agreements, enhancing efficiency and reducing counterparty risks.  Unlike derivative products, RWA-backed tokens which are licensed as ARTs confer an immutable legal title of…
Mario Mizzi
9th January 2025
POS Payment
Payments Insights #4 –
Compliance with the Instant Payments Regulation Banking & FinanceFinTech

Payments Insights #4 –
Compliance with the Instant Payments Regulation

Compliance with a key component of the EU's Instant Payments Regulation (“IPR”) is mandatory as of the 9th of January 2025. The IPR, whose full name is Regulation (EU) 2024/886 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2024 amending Regulations (EU) No 260/2012 and (EU) 2021/1230 and Directives 98/26/EC and (EU) 2015/2366 as regards instant credit transfers in Euro, was promulgated in April 2024, and mandates instant euro credit transfers across EU member states. As of the 9th of January 2025, all payment service providers (“PSPs”) operating within the euro area must have systems in place to receive instant credit transfers.…
Mario Mizzi
8th January 2025
Scene in Valletta
Family Offices Get Maltese Investment Law Exemption Investment Services & Funds

Family Offices Get Maltese Investment Law Exemption

Family offices which choose to manage their global investments from Malta have been given a new legal exemption through a recent amendment in the applicable investment services rulebook of the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”). On the  27th of November 2024, the MFSA issued a circular titled “Establishment of Single Family Offices in Malta”. The circular provides that a Notified Professional Investor Fund (“NPIF”) which is set up to solely manage the investment of a single family office (without raising external capital) does not require a licensed fund manager anymore. This is a beneficial exemption which reduces cost and bureaucracy…
Mario Mizzi
28th November 2024
Furthering MiCAR in Malta by Chapter 647
Fintech Insights #8 –
Furthering MiCAR in Malta by Chapter 647 FinTech

Fintech Insights #8 –
Furthering MiCAR in Malta by Chapter 647

Chapter 647 of the Laws of Malta, titled the Markets In Crypto-Assets Act (hereinafter referred to as “Chapter 647”), integrates all aspects of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and Council on markets in crypto-assets (“MiCAR”). MiCAR regulates the issuers of asset-referenced tokens (“ARTs”), electronic money tokens (“EMTs”), other types of tokens, as well as the conduct of crypto asset service providers (“CASPs”). Malta’s presidential assent to Chapter 647 was given on the 5th of November 2024 through  Act No. XXXVI of 2024 (“Act 36 (2024)”); and it was promulgated on the same day. Similar to MiCAR, Act 36…
Mario Mizzi
12th November 2024
EU AI Act series
AI in Investment Services: MIFID Considerations Investment Services & Funds

AI in Investment Services: MIFID Considerations

This article is part of our EU AI Act series which explores the effect of the AI Act across various industries and sectors.  Investment legislation can be split into two broad categories: investment funds and investment services. The former principally relates to UCITS, AIFMD and local laws which regulate asset management and their service providers. The latter relates to regulating financial instruments and the investment markets thereof. The interplay of AI with investment funds was discussed by our Firm in a series of six insights last year titled “AI and Funds” which can be read here.  Hence, in this article in the ongoing…
Mario Mizzi
25th October 2024