Italian register of payment services agents, e-money distributors and central contact points

On 7 October 2021, the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance published a draft decree under public consultation containing rules for the establishment of the Italian register of central contact points (“CCPs”), payment service agents and e-money distributors operating  in Italy on behalf of payment service providers and e-money institutions (“PSPs”) to be kept by Organismo per la gestione degli Elenchi degli Agenti in attività finanziaria e dei Mediatori creditizi (“OAM”).

The draft decree implements  Article 45 of Legislative Decree No. 231 of 21 November 2007 on anti-money laundering and is aimed at ensuring a more efficient supervision of the activities carried out by agents and distributors on the ground.

Pursuant to the draft decree, PSPs - directly or through the CCP where required - would be subject to the following reporting obligations toward OAM:

• Communication of data regarding the relevant payment services agents and e-money distributors, including the place of business and  the express indication of the provision of money remittance services. This report would be due on a half-yearly basis within 1 and 15 January and 1 and 15 July of each year;
• Communication of the termination of the contractual relationship with the relevant payment services agent and/or e-money distributor for non-business reasons (including the lack of the necessary requirements and/or serious breach of applicable rules by the agent/distributor). This reporting would need to be made within 30 days from the termination of the relationship. The relevant information would to be kept in a dedicated section of the OAM register accessible only to authorities and PSPs;
• Communication by EU PSPs of the data of the CCP in Italy, to be followed by a communication made directly by the CCP regarding the commencement of activities in Italy.

The draft decree also provides that failure to comply with the mentioned reporting obligation would be subject to a fine of EUR 4,500 which may be tripled in case of serious and repeated breach.

Next steps

The public consultation runs until 5 November 2021. The draft decree under consultation is available here (in Italian only).
 

Authored by Jeffrey Greenbaum and Claudia Colomba.