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Sarah Zerafa Lewis

Mamo TCV Advocates: Proposed Amendments to the Depositor Guarantee Scheme Directive. Such proposal has been adopted by the European Parliament on 24 April 2024.
Banking & Finance

European Parliament Adopts Amendments to the Depositor Guarantee Scheme Directive

On the 24th of April 2024 the European Parliament (hereunder the ‘EP’) adopted the Proposal for the amendments to the Directive 2014/49/EU as regards the scope of deposit protection, use of deposit guarantee schemes funds, cross-border cooperation and transparency (the Directive hereunder referred to as the ‘DGSD’). The EP adopted the proposal with additional amendments to be assessed in line with the applicable European legislative process and, hence, the text is not final. These amendments are part of the proposed European package amending the framework on banks’ crisis management . One of the concepts considered under the DGSD is that…
Sarah Zerafa Lewis
4th June 2024
Mamo TCV Advocates: Payments Insights #3 – Existing and Upcoming Strong Customer Authentication Requirements for PSPs
Banking & FinanceFinTech

Payments Insights #3 –
Existing and Upcoming Strong Customer Authentication Requirements for PSPs

When the Second Payment Services Directive1 (‘PSD2’) replaced the First Payment Service Directive, the European Union (‘EU’) introduced the requirement of Strong Customer Authentication (‘SCA’). SCA enhances the security of electronic payments through additional layers of authentication with the aim to mitigate payment fraud. As we noted in the previous Payment Insight, the European Banking Authority (the ‘EBA’) opines that SCA requirements have been successful in preventing payments fraud resulting from the theft of customers’ credentials. In view of this, the upcoming amendments to the payment services regime will see the SCA requirements being enhanced in the proposed Payment Services…
Sarah Zerafa Lewis
30th May 2024
Mamo TCV - Legal Article
Banking & Finance

Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction) Orders the Reinstatement of Bank Accounts

Bank Accounts were reinstated after Bank failed to give justified reasons for termination under AML/CFT obligations. 1. Facts of the Case APS Bank p.l.c. (hereinafter 'the Bank’) had informed a customer (hereunder ‘the Appellant’) that, after the Bank’s internal policies and procedures were revised, the Bank was no longer in a position to provide banking services to her and, that consequently, their contractual relationship was being terminated. The Appellant lodged a complaint before the Arbiter for Financial Services in Malta (hereunder ‘the Arbiter’) claiming that the Bank had terminated the banking relationship unfairly, without a valid reason and contrary to…
Sarah Zerafa Lewis
2nd May 2024
Mamo TCV Advocates: The European Banking Authority (EBA) has released an opinion that assesses emerging trends in payment fraud and proposes regulatory measures to address these challenges. In our latest Payments Insights, we discuss the EBA's publication which emphasises the necessity of improving security measures for instant payments, applying Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) consistently across all transaction types, and facilitating cross-border collaboration to manage the increased fraud risks associated with international transactions. The EBA’s Opinion also outlines several regulatory recommendations, including updating fraud risk management frameworks, adjusting liability rules to better protect consumers, and reinforcing supervisory processes. These measures are designed to increase the resilience of the financial sector for the benefit of the end-consumer within the payments sphere.
Banking & FinanceFinTech

Payments Insights #2 –
EBA Opinion on Payment Fraud and Possible Mitigants

On the 29th of April 2024, the European Banking Authority (the ‘EBA’) published an opinion (the ‘Opinion’) in which it assesses payment fraud data and identifies new types and patterns of payment fraud while developing proposals to mitigate them. In this second Payments Insight we highlight some of the most important key considerations emerging from the EBA’s Opinion. The power of the EBA to issue this Opinion stems from Articles 1(5), 8(2)(g), 9(4), and 16a(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010. These provisions empower the EBA to promote a uniform approach to the regulation and supervision of innovative financial activities. Additionally,…
Sarah Zerafa Lewis
30th April 2024
Mamo TCV Advocates – Safeguarding under the Proposed PSD3
Banking & FinanceFinTech

Payments Insights #1 –
Safeguarding under the Proposed PSD3

Introduction to the Payments Insights Series The European Commission is currently in the process of updating the EU’s legal framework for payment services. These proposals include: A proposed Third Payment Services Directive (the ‘PSD3’) which is a directive on payment services and electronic money services in the EU’s internal market which will repeal the Second Payment Services Directive (the ‘PSD2’) and the Second Electronic Money Directive (the 'EMD2’); and A proposed new Payment Services Regulation (the ‘PSR’). The proposed legal amendments aim to: Strengthen the protection of users and enhance confidence in payments and electronic money services; Improve the competitiveness…
Sarah Zerafa Lewis
22nd April 2024
Mamo TCV: A General Insight into Current #Data Trends for #Banks including #EU Data Developments and Regulatory Updates. Read our Article to learn more about this.
Banking & Finance

Data Requirements for Banks: Current Trends and Upcoming Regulatory Updates

With the increased importance of corporate social responsibility and the development of the manner in which banks collect, manage, store and report data, it is imperative for banks to ensure that they have the right data strategy, integrated data solutions and suitable governance and compliances practices in place. Having a proper data strategy ensures not only that all legal requirements and supervisory expectations are being adhered to, but also that license holders keep up with current market trends and continue to build customers’ trust. Although internationally (including at European Union level), data requirements and practices have been codified for banks…
Sarah Zerafa Lewis
27th March 2024