Payments Daily · Saturday, October 10, 2026Daily
PAY.NEWS
Singapore passes bill regulating critical data centers and cloud services
Singapore passes the Digital Infrastructure Act, establishing licensing regimes for data centers and cloud services that affect critical services such as digital banking and payments. The UK has sanctioned three Russia-linked cryptocurrency exchanges, multiple payment platforms and related individuals, while Japan’s FSA requires the early adoption of identity card IC chip verification.
Regulation & Compliance
Fintech News SingaporeSingapore passes the Digital Infrastructure Act, establishing licensing regimes for critical data centers and cloud services
Singapore’s Parliament passed the Digital Infrastructure Act on 7 October 2026, establishing two licensing regimes for data centers and cloud services that affect critical services such as digital banking and payments. Critical data centers, cloud service providers, and data centers reaching a critical IT load threshold of 3MW will face licensing, risk management, incident reporting, or energy-efficiency requirements; certain violations may incur fines of up to S$1 million or 10 percent of the entity’s annual turnover in Singapore.
Spain requires identity verification for all cryptocurrency ATM transactions
Spain passed Real Decreto 813/2026, requiring all cryptocurrency ATM transactions to verify users’ identities, with operators given 18 months to install electronic identity verification systems. Real Decreto-ley 25/2026, which took effect earlier, has already brought crypto-asset service providers within the scope of anti-money laundering obligations and implemented the Travel Rule stipulated by Regulation (EU) 2023/1113.
CoinDeskUK sanctions three Russia-linked cryptocurrency exchanges and multiple payment platforms
The UK added three cryptocurrency exchanges, multiple payment platforms, and related individuals to a sanctions measure containing 38 new designations, stating that they allegedly assisted Russia in evading sanctions. The UK Foreign Office said that some targets had processed or facilitated transactions involving the A7 network, which operates the ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5. The assets of designated entities in the UK will be frozen, and UK financial institutions may not process payments involving certain related companies.
Japan’s FSA requires banks and crypto-asset exchanges to stop using identity document photo verification early
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) notified banks and crypto-asset exchanges not to wait until 1 April 2027, but to stop requiring customers to upload photos of identity documents early and instead use identity card IC chip data for verification. The new process uses a smartphone to read the user’s name, address, date of birth, and facial photograph, and matches them against a live image of the applicant; the facial capture step remains in place.
Bank of EnglandFirst partyCMORG completes SIMEX26 financial industry cloud service outage simulation exercise
The Cross-Market Operational Resilience Group (CMORG), co-hosted by the Bank of England and UK Finance, completed SIMEX26 on 8 October 2026. The exercise focused on a global cloud service outage and involved 38 of the largest and systemically important banks and market infrastructure operators.