Payments Weekly · 2026-W41Weekly
PAY.NEWS
Crypto regulation tightens as digital euro advances
From October 5 to October 11, 2026, developments in the payments industry centered on tighter boundaries for crypto-asset regulation, accelerated construction of digital payment infrastructure, and higher financial operational-resilience requirements. Russia established its first registry of regulated crypto trading and custody institutions; the EU required service providers to exit non-compliant stablecoins; Spain strengthened identity verification for crypto ATMs; and the UK sanctioned Russia-linked crypto exchanges and payment platforms. The ECB advanced the digital euro, Pontes, and Appia and prepared a cross-border payment interoperability network. Singapore, South Korea, and the UK simultaneously strengthened regulation of data centers, bank security, cloud services, and settlement infrastructure.
Comprehensive tightening of crypto regulation
Section overviewRussia approved the first batch of crypto trading platforms and digital custodians, requiring transactions to be completed through licensed intermediaries; the EU requires service providers to clear non-compliant stablecoin exposure within a specified period, and Spain will subject crypto ATM transactions to identity verification. The UK sanctioned Russia-linked crypto exchanges and payment platforms, while the US CFTC proposed rules on leveraged trading and crypto-asset market regulation.
Russian central bank approved the first 4 crypto trading platforms and 5 digital custodians
The Russian central bank approved 9 institutions to enter the regulated crypto market, of which 4 were authorized to operate as digital currency trading platforms and 5 to provide digital custody services, making them the first participants in the two official registries. Sberbank and VTB received digital custody licenses, while VTB was also authorized to conduct cryptocurrency trading. All crypto transactions, including transfers to foreign wallets, must be completed through Russian-licensed intermediaries, and the relevant institutions must fully comply with the regulatory framework no later than September 1, 2027.
ESMA requires EU crypto companies to exit non-compliant stablecoins within three months
ESMA requires EU crypto companies to clear their existing exposure to stablecoins that do not comply with MiCA by January 8, 2027, and gives national financial regulators 90 days to supervise enforcement. Individuals holding USDT are not directly prohibited, but EU service providers regulated under MiCA must stop providing relevant access, while they may provide exit services such as liquidation, conversion, withdrawals, transfers, and custody.
Spain requires identity verification for all crypto ATM transactions
Spain passed Real Decreto 813/2026, requiring identity verification for all crypto ATM transactions, with operators given 18 months to install electronic identity verification systems. Real Decreto-ley 25/2026, which took effect earlier, already brought crypto-asset service providers under anti-money-laundering obligations and implemented the Travel Rule stipulated by Regulation (EU) 2023/1113.
CoinDesk10.09UK sanctions three Russia-linked cryptocurrency exchanges and multiple payment platforms
The UK added three cryptocurrency exchanges, multiple payment platforms, and related individuals to sanctions containing 38 new designations, stating that they were suspected of helping Russia evade sanctions. The UK Foreign Office said some targets had processed or facilitated transactions involving the A7 network, which operates the ruble-linked stablecoin A7A5. The assets of designated entities in the UK will be frozen, and UK financial institutions may not process payments involving some of the related companies.
CoinDesk10.05US CFTC proposes two cryptocurrency regulatory rules, while spot-market regulatory gaps remain
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed two rules, Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM, intended respectively to regulate leveraged, margined, or financed crypto trading and establish crypto-asset markets (CAM) as a new category of trading-platform registration.
Digital euro rollout accelerates
Section overviewThe ECB continues to advance the digital euro, Pontes, and Appia. The digital euro pilot has begun, with plans to test offline payments, and it may be ready for its first issuance in 2029. Five European payment organizations established a joint network and plan to build a cross-border payment interoperability hub, further integrating Europe’s digital payment infrastructure.
European Central BankFirst party10.08Piero Cipollone: Digital euro may launch in 2029, with pilot already underway
ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said that the digital euro will coexist with cash and may be launched in 2029; the pilot project began in the summer, with the first round of testing set to begin next year. The ECB selected 36 participants from nearly 60 applications. The digital euro will also support offline payments without a network connection and may halve the cost for small merchants to accept digital payments.
European Central BankFirst party10.06Piero Cipollone: ECB advances the digital euro, Pontes, and Appia to build Europe’s digital financial infrastructure
ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said that the ECB is using the digital euro, Pontes, and Appia to extend central bank money to retail payments and tokenized wholesale finance. The digital euro pilot is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027 and last 12 months. If the legislative process is completed by the end of 2026, the ECB aims to be ready for a first issuance in 2029. Pontes was launched on September 21 to settle tokenized assets in central bank money, with full implementation expected by mid-2028.
Payments Cards & Mobile10.05Five European payment organizations establish the European Network for Payments to build a cross-border payment network
Bancomat, Bizum, the European Payments Initiative behind Wero, SIBS-MB WAY, and Vipps MobilePay established the European Network for Payments and plan to operate a shared interoperability hub in Madrid.
Financial infrastructure resilience upgraded
Section overviewSingapore passed a digital infrastructure bill establishing licensing and risk-management requirements for critical data centers and cloud services; South Korea suspended plans to ease bank network-separation rules. The UK financial industry completed a cloud-service outage simulation and discussed transition arrangements for near-24/7 RTGS and CHAPS settlement and the new FX definitions.
Fintech News Singapore10.09Singapore passes the Digital Infrastructure Act, establishing a licensing system for critical data centers and cloud services
Singapore’s Parliament passed the Digital Infrastructure Act on October 7, 2026, establishing two licensing regimes for data centers and cloud services affecting critical services such as digital banking and payments. Critical data centers, cloud service providers, and data centers reaching a 3MW threshold IT load 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 a company’s annual turnover in Singapore.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission suspends plan to relax bank security rules
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission suspended its plan to relax bank security rules after AI-assisted attacks affected 7 financial institutions and exposed tens of thousands of customer records. The next round of participating banks had originally been scheduled for selection on October 7. The plan concerned South Korea’s network-separation rules. In the first round, 49 institutions with assets of at least 10 trillion won and at least 1,000 employees received one-year exemptions; the second phase had originally been intended to expand this to 75 companies.
Bank of EnglandFirst party10.07Bank of England-chaired London FX Joint Standing Committee discusses near-24/7 RTGS and CHAPS settlement
At its June 24 meeting, the Bank of England-chaired London FX Joint Standing Committee discussed plans to transition RTGS and CHAPS to near-24/7 settlement. The meeting noted that the relevant Consultation Paper was soliciting stakeholder feedback. Extending settlement hours will affect FX market structure and require adjustments in financial stability, investment, funding, and treasury management.
Bank of EnglandFirst party10.09CMORG completes SIMEX26 financial-sector cloud-service outage simulation
The Cross-Market Operational Resilience Group (CMORG), co-chaired 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.
Bank of EnglandFirst party10.07Bank of England publishes minutes of London FXJSC legal subgroup meeting, focusing on the transition to the 2026 FX Definitions
The Bank of England published the minutes of the London FXJSC legal subgroup meeting held on June 16, focusing on the 2026 FX Definitions and their implementation arrangements. The four-year plan has entered the implementation phase. The SWIFT rulebook is expected to be updated in the summer, and the new definitions are scheduled to transition in November 2027, when the 1998 definitions will cease to apply. The new framework will be unified into a versionable digital system and will provide an implementation roadmap, guidance, and confirmation templates.
Regulatory enforcement and governance strengthened
Section overviewThe US Federal Reserve took enforcement action against American Express, identifying deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering identification, reporting, and enterprise-wide programs. The UK PRA proposed automatically increasing 128 regulatory thresholds in line with nominal GDP, while Japan’s FSA required banks and crypto-asset exchanges to switch early to identity-card IC-chip verification.
Federal Reserve takes enforcement action against American Express, saying it failed to adequately identify and report money-laundering-related suspicious activity
The Federal Reserve took enforcement action against American Express, stating that it failed to adequately identify and report certain money-laundering-related suspicious activities. The Federal Reserve also found significant deficiencies in the implementation of its enterprise-wide AML program, particularly concerning its national bank subsidiary; the OCC has taken separate enforcement action against that bank.
Bank of EnglandFirst party10.07PRA proposes linking 128 regulatory thresholds to nominal GDP and automatically increasing them
The UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) proposed automatically increasing 128 regulatory thresholds for banks, insurers, and credit unions in line with nominal GDP. These thresholds determine which regulatory rules apply to institutions, how the rules are implemented, and their reporting obligations to the PRA. They include the £320 billion threshold for detailed capital reporting and the £7,500 threshold for individual arrears at credit unions. The first adjustment is proposed for 1 July 2031, followed by updates every five years; the consultation opened on 7 October 2026 and closes on 7 February 2027.
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 April 1, 2027, and to stop requiring customers to upload photos of identity documents early, switching to verification by reading data from identity-card IC chips. The new process uses a smartphone to read the 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.
Banking-license dispute continues
Section overviewThe Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC and related officials, seeking to invalidate the rules, interpretive letters, and specific license approval supporting the recent approval of a national trust bank license. The case reflects the community banking sector’s continuing dispute over the scope of trust-bank license approvals and their regulatory basis.
ICBA sues OCC, calling for tighter approval of national trust bank licenses
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) sued the OCC and Jonathan Gould in federal court, seeking to overturn the rules, interpretive letters, and Protego Holdings Corp.’s license approval supporting recent trust-bank license approvals.