We are pleased to issue the eleventh edition of the Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Updates. These updates are intended to keep Maltese regulated entities informed of regulatory changes and developments taking place in the local financial services space. In this issue, we focus on the sector specific and cross-sectoral regulatory updates relating to investment services, CSPs, fintech, credit institutions, insurance undertakings and insurance intermediaries. Our eleventh Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Update can be found here .The Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Update does not purport to give legal, regulatory,financial or tax advice. Should you require further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to…
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.…
Introduction Directive No. 19 (the “Directive”), issued by the Central Bank of Malta (the “CBM” or the “Central Bank”) on the 7th July 2021 officially came into effect on 1st January 2022, with amendments issued in September 2024. It applies to all paper-based instruments issued, processed, or encashed within Malta’s jurisdiction, as long as these instruments are denominated in euros. The Directive sets the framework for the safe and effective use of cheques and bank drafts (collectively referred to as "paper-based instruments") where the payer, payee and the regulated institutions servicing the paper-based instruments are all located in Malta. It…