Blog
Dear CEO Investment Firm Letter
For most financial services firms it is probably fair to say that the second week of August is not the most productive week of the
‘Smile’ and bear it: operational resilience and the Co-operative Bank
In this blog, Simon Whittaker and Greg James discusses the recent outages faced by Smile, an online banking service offered by the Co-operative Bank. The
FCA Announces Wind-down Plan Requirements
The FCA has, yesterday, told payment and e-money institutions that they must produce wind-down plans (WDP) as a condition of authorisation. The move is the
FCA: temporary prudential guidance for payment and e-money institutions
The FCA has, yesterday, published temporary guidance for payment and e-money institutions on how to safeguard and manage their prudential risks. The guidance was consulted on in
Does your business deal in crypto? Priority cryptoasset registration applications deadline fast approaching
The 30 June deadline for crypto asset applications to receive a priority review from the FCA is fast approaching. As you may be aware, cryptoasset
Webinar: Everything you need to know about drafting a winddown plan
fscom will be hosting a webinar on what should be included in a regulated firm’s winddown plan to help clients with the complex task of
The FCA’s Financial Resilience Survey
As we enter our 12th week of lockdown, the FCA has begun a process to obtain regular, specific data from a substantial number of firms to
FCA consultation on safeguarding and capital adequacy guidance
Payment and e-money institutions have long called for clearer guidance on the FCA’s expectations of how they meet their obligation to protect customers’ funds. Friday week ago, the FCA
How We Are Managing Our Mental Health in fscom
fscom’s Head of People, Brona Cathcart shares her insights into how the fscom team have been getting on with looking after their mental health as
Handling Complaints and Vulnerable Customers in COVID-19
With the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic yet to be seen, financial services institutions have had to implement business continuity plans, introduce remote working
Senior NI business leaders to take part in UK Fintech Week Webinar
HM Treasury appointed Fintech Envoy for Northern Ireland, Andrew Jenkins, is set to host a webinar with local senior industry and academic leaders as part
Cross Border Payments Regulation 2
With words and phrases such as “pandemic”, “furlough” and “business continuity measures” at the forefront of minds at the moment, firms may have missed that the
Back to Brexit: Temporary Permissions Regime for EEA firms – Your Key Questions Answered
Brexit talks, which had been postponed due to the pandemic, are to be reconvened today with European Union and British negotiators attempting to salvage the
SM&CR – The Regulators’ Expectations of Firms
The FCA last week published a statement in which they set out their expectations of solo-regulated firms operating under the ongoing strain of COVID-19. While
Is your zoom video conference as private as you think?
With my NICyber hat on last week I helped run a webinar about the new challenges facing us all in this new normal that we now find
Homeworking – top tips for adapting to the shift in workplace dynamics
fscom’s Head of People, Brona Cathcart shares her insights into how the fscom team have been adapting to the shift in workplace dynamics over the
Bank of England announces supervisory and prudential policy measures to address the challenges of Covid-19
As a result of the unprecedented Covid-19 outbreak, The Bank of England (BoE) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have announced several measures seeking to reduce
Capital Stress Testing
I delivered a training session on capital adequacy last week. The irony of delivering the session on the cusp of such a capital-stressful situation was
FCA issues statement on Covid-19
In response to the Covid-19 situation, which saw many UK financial institutions enacting their contingency plans, the FCA issued a statement yesterday setting out their expectations on firms. There
Safeguarding the customers’ money
Crown Currency Exchange, a business based in Cornwall that sold currency mainly to consumers for holiday spending but was also a small payment institution, collapsed
Covid-19: A wake up call to focus on Business Continuity Plans
In the past four weeks, we have seen the highly infectious coronavirus be declared a global pandemic and make its way into conversations at every
EPA publishes collaborative report to debate payments regulation ahead of PSD3
The Emerging Payments Association (EPA), which celebrates collaboration and innovation within new and existing finance companies, has published its first report to address the issues from
Authorised push payments fraud and the expanded role of the Financial Ombudsman
Authorised push payment (APP) scams were a hot topic in 2019 with the authorities taking a series of three coordinated actions to push down on
Capital adequacy: Brace for impact
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is taking every opportunity to warn payment and e-money institutions over “unacceptable” practices in safeguarding client funds, as well as around risk
2020 Regulatory Outlook – Top Themes for Financial Services for the Year Ahead
As we propel ourselves fully into 2020, we move forward from a formidable decade of regulatory reform in the financial services sector. The emergence of
Brexit: All systems go
As the clock strikes 11pm on Friday the 31st of January, the UK will make unprecedented steps and become the first state to leave the
Operational and security risk reporting (REP018) and IT audits
REP018 is the name the FCA has given to the reporting return for the operational and security risk assessment that all payment service providers (PSPs)
Capital adequacy: Brace for impact
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is taking every opportunity to warn payment and e-money institutions over “unacceptable” practices in safeguarding client funds, as well as around risk
The Brexit Saga Continues
The Brexit saga continues, but what does the FCA expect from you? At the time of writing on the 17th of October, we sit almost two
Tricky Verifications – The importance of getting it right.
In the ever-evolving world of anti-money laundering firms are under more pressure and scrutiny than ever before, especially when it comes to verifying the identity
