European Communities (Electronic Money) Regulations 2011.

• Statutory Instrument No.: 183/2011
• Published date: 26 April 2011

PART 1

PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

1. Citation

2. Commencement

3. Interpretation

4. Bank to be competent authority

5. Electronic monetary value to which these Regulations do not apply

PART 2

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE TAKING UP, PURSUIT AND PRUDENTIAL SUPERVISION OF BUSINESS OF ELECTRONIC MONEY INSTITUTIONS

Chapter 1

Right to issue electronic money

6. Persons that may issue electronic money

7. The Register

Chapter 2

Authorisation and registration of electronic money institutions

8. Applications for authorisation

9. Decision to grant or refuse authorisation

10. Bank may require adjustments to applicant’s business plan

11. Conditions for granting of authorisation

12. Communication of the decision

Chapter 3

Conditions of authorisation

13. Initial capital

14. Own funds

15. Calculation of own funds — Method D

16. Calculation of amount of own funds

17. Average outstanding electronic money

18. Maintenance of authorisation

19. Accounting and audit

20. Use of distributors, agents or any other entity acting on behalf of electronic money institution

21. Requirement for agents to be registered

22. Outsourcing of functions

23. Establishment of branch or engagement of agent in the State by electronic money institution authorised in another Member State

24. Liability

25. Record-keeping

26. Obligation to give notice of intention to commence providing certain services in another Member State

Chapter 4

Withdrawal of authorisation

27. Withdrawal of authorisation

Chapter 5

Additional activities

28. Additional activities in which electronic money institutions may engage

Chapter 6

Safeguarding requirements

29. Safeguarding for electronic money institutions engaged in the issuance of electronic money

30. Safeguarding for electronic money institutions engaged in payment services not related to the issuance of electronic money

31. Material change in measures of safeguarding

Chapter 7

Registration of small electronic money institutions

32. Application for registration as small electronic money institution

33. Small electronic money institutions — waiver of application of certain provisions of Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 6

34. Average outstanding electronic money

35. Requirement to apply for authorisation in certain circumstances

36. Withdrawal of waiver

Chapter 8

Restrictions on acquiring and disposing of qualifying holdings in electronic money institutions

37. Interpretation

38. Restrictions on acquiring and disposing of qualifying holdings in electronic money institutions

39. Electronic money institution to provide information in relation to certain acquisitions and disposals

40. Period for assessment of proposed acquisition

41. Assessment of proposed acquisitions

42. Bank to cooperate with competent authorities of other Member States in certain cases

43. Bank may fix period for completion of acquisition, etc.

44. Notice of Bank’s decision

45. Bank may oppose certain acquisitions

46. Decision to oppose proposed acquisition to be appealable

47. Circumstances in which proposed acquisition not to be completed

48. Effect of section 201 of Companies Act 1963

49. Electronic money institutions to provide information about shareholdings, etc.

50. Power of court to make certain orders

51. Powers of Bank to waive the application of all or part of the obligations pursuant to this Chapter

PART 3

ISSUANCE AND REDEEMABILITY OF ELECTRONIC MONEY

52. Issuance and redeemability

53. Conditions of redemption

54. Fees for redemption

55. Amount of redemption

56. Redemption rights of persons other than consumers

57. Prohibition of interest

PART 4

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BANK

Chapter 1

Supervisory powers and duties

58. Bank as competent authority

59. Supervision

60. Bank’s power to give directions

61. Exchange of information

Chapter 2

Powers of authorised officers

62. Interpretation (Chapter 2)

63. Power to appoint authorised officers

64. Powers of authorised officers

65. Warrants

Chapter 3

Out-of-Court complaint and redress procedures

66. Out-of-court redress

Chapter 4

Appeals

67. Appealable decisions

PART 5

OFFENCES

68. Offence — operation as an electronic money institution without authorisation, etc.

69. Offence — false or misleading information in application, etc.

70. Offence — misappropriation of users’ funds

71. Offence — failure to keep appropriate records, etc.

72. Offences — obstruction of authorised officer, etc.

73. Offence — provision of false or misleading information under these Regulations

74. Penalties

75. Prosecution of offences

76. Offences — directors and others of bodies corporate and unincorporated bodies

PART 6

TRANSITIONAL

77. Electronic Money Issuers active before 30 April 2011

78. Certain small electronic money issuers active before 30 April 2011

PART 7

AMENDMENT AND REVOCATION OF OTHER LEGISLATION

79. Amendment of Central Bank Act 1942

80. Amendment of European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations 1992

81. Amendment of Payment Services Regulations

82. Revocation of European Communities (Electronic Money) Regulations 2002

SCHEDULE

AMENDMENT OF OTHER LEGISLATION

PART 1

AMENDMENT OF CENTRAL BANK ACT 1942

PART 2

AMENDMENT OF EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF CREDIT INSTITUTIONS) REGULATIONS 1992

PART 3

AMENDMENT OF PAYMENT SERVICES REGULATIONS

S.I. No. 183 of 2011

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (ELECTRONIC MONEY) REGULATIONS 2011

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 26th April, 2011.

I, MICHAEL NOONAN T.D., Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 (as amended by section 2 of the European Communities Act 2007 (No. 18 of 2007)) of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Directive 2009/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 20091 , hereby make the following Regulations:

PART 1

PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Electronic Money) Regulations 2011.

Commencement

2. These Regulations come into operation on 30 April 2011.

Interpretation

3. (1) In these Regulations—

“agent” means a person who provides payment services on behalf of an electronic money institution;

“average outstanding electronic money” means the average total amount of financial liabilities related to electronic money in issue at the end of each calendar day over the preceding 6 calendar months, calculated on the first calendar day of each calendar month and applied for that calendar month;

“the Bank” means the Central Bank of Ireland;

“competent authority”, in relation to any other Member State, means the body or bodies charged by law in the Member State with the supervision of electronic money institutions;

“consumer” means a natural person who, in electronic money contracts covered by the Electronic Money Directive, is acting for purposes other than his or her trade, business or profession;

“court” means the High Court;

“distributor” means a person—

(a) acting on behalf of an electronic money institution, and

(b) engaged by the institution to distribute and redeem electronic money;

“electronic money” means electronically (including magnetically) stored monetary value as represented by a claim on the electronic money issuer which—

(a) is issued on receipt of funds for the purpose of making payment transactions,

(b) is accepted by a person other than the electronic money issuer, and

(c) is not excluded by Regulation 5;

“Electronic Money Directive” means Directive 2009/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions amending Directives 2005/60/EC and 2006/48/EC and repealing Directive 2000/46/EC;

“electronic money holder” means an electronic money holder referred to in the Electronic Money Directive;

“Member State” means a Member State of the European Communities and includes a contracting party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 19922 (as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17 March 19933 ), as amended from time to time;

“money-laundering” means—

(a) the conversion or transfer of property, knowing that the property is derived from criminal activity or from an act of participation in criminal activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of assisting any person who is involved in the commission of the activity to evade the legal consequences of his or her action,

(b) the concealment or disguise of the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement, rights with respect to, or ownership of property, knowing that the property is derived from criminal activity or from an act of participation in criminal activity,

(c) the acquisition, possession or use of property, knowing, at the time of receipt, that the property was derived from criminal activity or from an act of participation in criminal activity, or

(d) participation in, association to commit, attempts to commit and aiding, abetting, facilitating and counselling the commission of any of the actions referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) or (c),

even if the activities that generated the property were carried out outside the State;

“payment account” means an account held in the name of one or more payment service users that is used for the execution of payment transactions where the holder of the account is entitled to place, transfer or withdraw funds without any restrictions;

“payment service” means each business activity listed in Schedule 1 to the Payment Services Regulations;

“Payment Services Directive” means...