Supervision release 9 March 2018 – 14/2018

Updates to authorisations and registrations issued under the Payment Institutions Act due to the amendment of the Act

Amendments as a consequence of the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) have been made to the Payment Institutions Act. Pursuant to the provisions on the entry into force of the Act (890/2017), an entity which has received an authorisation or a registration granted for the provision of a payment service under the Payment Institutions Act must submit to the Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) material verifying that the entity fulfils in its activities the conditions imposed by the revised legislation. Pursuant to the provision on the entry into force of the Act, the FIN-FSA may also assess whether material already submitted by an entity is adequate to verify this.

​The FIN-FSA considers that the material submitted to date by entities falling within the area of application of the Act is not adequate to demonstrate fulfilment of the requirements of the Act. The FIN-FSA considers, however, that entities, during the stage of granting authorisation or registration, or during ongoing supervision, have submitted to the FIN-FSA material to such an extent that resubmission of all of the application material is not deemed appropriate.

Entities in the sector must submit to the FIN-FSA material to demonstrate that they fulfil the conditions prescribed in sections 19 a and 19 b of the Payment Institutions Act. The obligations below apply to payment institutions and to persons providing payment services in accordance with the exemption referred to in section 7 of the Payment Institutions Act. The obligations do not apply, however, to entities providing issuance of electronic money without authorisation, unless the entity in accordance with section 7 a of the Payment Institutions Act also provides a payment service referred to in section 1 of the Act. In that case, the entity must submit the clarifications mentioned below.

Material required by the FIN-FSA

  • To the FIN-FSA shall be submitted an up-to-date description, in accordance with section 19 a, subsection 1 of the Payment Institutions Act, of the entity’s risk management system and incident management system. The description must show how the entity fulfils its obligations prescribed in section 19 a. The material must also show that the entity has existing methods and procedures to submit an annual assessment, as referred to in section 19 a, subsection 2 of the Act, of the operational and security risks of payment services.
  • A description shall be submitted to the FIN-FSA of the operating principles by which the entity fulfils its obligations, prescribed in the section 19 b of the Payment Institutions Act, to report significant operational and security incidents relating to payment services.

A reminder to telecommunications operators providing payment services

The list, in accordance with section 1, subsection 2 of the Payment Institutions Act, of payment services requiring authorisation has changed due to the amendment of the Act. The previous item 6, which related to a payment service provided by telecommunications operators, has been deleted from the list. These operators must assess what payment service according to valid legislation they possibly will provide in the future and apply for the appropriate authorisation or registration.

Timetable and deadlines

In the case of a legal entity providing payment services under a payment institution authorisation, the FIN-FSA must make a decision on authorisation by 13 July 2018 at the latest. If authorisation is not granted, the legal entity must cease providing the payment service.

In the case of a person providing a payment service pursuant of section 7 of the Payment Institutions Act, the FIN-FSA must make a decision on authorisation or on whether the person fulfils the conditions referred to in section 7 of the Act by 13 January 2019 at the latest. If authorisation is not granted or the conditions referred to in section 7 are not fulfilled, the person must cease providing the payment service. This deadline also applies to authorisation applications relating to the above-mentioned telecommunications operators when they wish to continue providing payment services after that date.

The FIN-FSA urges entities to submit the relevant material to the FIN-FSA’s Registry in good time before the expiry of the deadlines referred to in the provision. If the FIN-FSA has not made such a decision before the expiry of the deadline, the entity’s right to provide the payment service will cease. For this reason, the FIN-FSA recommends that entities submit the material at the latest two months before the expiry of the deadline.

For further information, please contact

  • Juha Eerikäinen, Senior Financial Supervisor, tel. +358 9 183 5322 or juha.eerikainen(at)fiva.fi
  • Henna Toivonen, Senior Financial Supervisor, tel. +358 9 183 5372 or henna.toivonen(at)fiva.fi
  • Erja Pullinen, Risk Specialist, tel. +358 9 183 5358 or erja.pullinen(at)fiva.fi