In September 2023, there’s been a surge in interesting developments in the fields of Payments, Digital Assets & Blockchain. Some key activities have been observed in both the United States and the United Kingdom, which could revolutionize the way payment systems operate in the future. The legal professionals operating in major law firms and corporations need to take note of these changes to stay ahead in the industry.
Over the past month in the United Kingdom, the UK Payment Systems Regulator has been engaged in consultations on a specific direction for Faster Payments participants. The discussion primarily focuses on the new APP (authorized push payment) fraud reimbursement requirement. This could be integral in advancing the country’s efforts to counteract fraud in push payment services.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, the U.S. Federal Reserve is contributing to the discourse by releasing a paper discussing voluntary market practices for payment requests under its new instant payment service, the FedNow Service. The service is anticipated to streamline financial transactions by offering faster payment processing capabilities.
In addition to these individual country initiatives, international organizations are taking significant steps towards regulating the rapidly growing Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector. Most notable among these is the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), which has recently started consulting on policy recommendations for DeFi. This presents an important development in creating a globally coordinated approach to DeFi regulation.
These advancements suggest that September 2023 was a buoyant month for legal aspects surrounding Payments, Digital Assets & Blockchain. Each of these changes could indeed bring about significant implications for the legal professionals, making it all the more essential to keep abreast with these developments.