Industry Intelligence
Live coverage of Forex, CFD, and Fintech B2B — auto-curated from 100+ sources, refreshed every 2 hours.
This article from the FCA website lists multiple firms that are not authorized or registered by the FCA, including capital-trustblank.online, Forexobot, Rushpips, Fxcglobal, Voltextrd, Multimarketzone, JoinSSE, and Flux-market. The FCA advises consumers to be cautious of these entities, as they are operating without proper regulatory approval. These warnings are part of the FCA's ongoing effort to protect consumers from unauthorized financial service providers.
Ediphy specializes in building core infrastructure for institutional fixed-income markets, offering solutions ranging from multi-venue execution to the fairCT, an EU bond consolidated tape. The company operates the infrastructure it builds and was selected by ESMA as the first Consolidated Tape Provider for bonds in the EU, highlighting its significant role in the industry. Ediphy aims to provide integrated and modern infrastructure for fixed income, with potential expansion across other asset classes.
CySEC has issued Circular C620 on the adoption of EBA guidelines for monitoring the threshold and procedural aspects of establishing intermediate EU undertakings. This applies to all CIFs belonging to a third-country group, especially those with combined total assets of EUR 40 billion or more, requiring them to establish an intermediate EU parent undertaking. CIFs must report to CySEC quarterly via the XBRL portal, with an extended deadline for the 31st December 2023 report to February 29, 2024.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) launched its Regulatory Sandbox on June 11, 2024, to foster innovation in FinTech, RegTech, and SupTech, maintaining market integrity and investor protection. CySEC Chairman Dr. George Theocharides emphasized its importance for developing cutting-edge solutions. Over 500 stakeholders from the financial sector attended the virtual launch to learn about the Sandbox’s operational framework and benefits.
CySEC has issued Circular C648, informing regulated entities that they can provide crypto-asset services under MiCA if authorized for equivalent services. An online questionnaire has been circulated to assess how many firms plan to notify MiCA services, requiring completion by July 26, 2024. The circular aims to gather information on the uptake of MiCA services within the financial sector.
CySEC released Circular C655, summarizing findings from 2022 annual risk assessments of Compliance Officer's and Internal Audit Reports. The assessment focused on regulated entities' adherence to AML/CFT requirements and related national laws and directives. CySEC expects regulated entities to address identified weaknesses and uphold obligations in future reporting.
CySEC has released a Policy Statement (PS-01-2024) introducing new rules for digital customer onboarding, allowing the use of remote customer onboarding solutions (RCOS) for non-face-to-face identity verification. These changes, which amend CySEC’s Anti-Money Laundering Directive, will largely come into effect by August 5, 2024, with RCOS-specific rules applicable from December 1, 2024. The new policy broadens the types of acceptable RCOS and identification documents, and requires a risk assessment and prior notification to CySEC.
The Seychelles FSA will implement new regulations from October 1, 2024, requiring annual reviews and verification of beneficial owners for all legal entities. Companies must submit a compliance declaration to their resident agent in Seychelles and failure to comply could result in penalties. This move by the Seychelles FSA will ensure greater transparency and accountability in financial markets.
CySEC has announced that it will no longer accept new applications for Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) from October 17, 2024, in anticipation of the EU's MiCAR regulation implementation on December 30, 2024. A transitional period is in place for existing registered CASPs, allowing them to operate until July 1, 2026, or until their MiCAR authorization decision. CySEC will also cease accepting notifications from EEA-registered entities for crypto-asset services by October 30, 2024.
CySEC has released Circular C700, outlining new reporting obligations under DORA for financial entities. This circular details requirements for incident reporting, classification of incidents, and annual submission of ICT service contract registers. Entities must familiarize themselves with the new forms and processes by the specified deadlines.
Match2Pay, in collaboration with Deneo Partners, organized an expert webinar titled "A Complete Guide to the Travel Rule & Offshore Regulations on Cold Wallets" on May 6, 2025. The session, featuring Andrey Kalashnikov from Match2Pay and Nicole Georgiou from Deneo Partners, aimed to provide insights into the evolving regulatory landscape for brokerages and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). The webinar covered various aspects of Travel Rule implementation, compliance challenges, and offshore regulatory considerations in jurisdictions like Mauritius and Seychelles, with Match2Pay demonstrating how it ensures compliance.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) Seychelles has updated its guidelines for Financial Services Providers (FSPs) regarding bi-annual reporting duties under the Financial Consumer Protection Act 2022. The new guidelines emphasize consumer protection, detailing mandatory report contents, penalties for non-compliance, and submission requirements. This update aims to ensure FSPs adhere to transparent and consistent reporting standards.
