PART 7GENERAL
Offences
Prohibition on issuing electronic money by persons other than electronic money issuers63
1
A person may not issue electronic money in the United Kingdom, or purport to do so, unless the person is—
a
an authorised electronic money institution;
b
a small electronic money institution;
c
an EEA authorised electronic money institution exercising its passport rights;
d
a credit institution authorised in the UK or exercising an EEA right in accordance with Part 2 of Schedule 3 to the 2000 Act (exercise of passport rights by EEA firms) M1;
F1da
a credit institution while it is an exempt person for the purposes of section 19(1)(b) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by virtue of regulation 47 of the EEA Passport Rights (Amendment, etc., and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 but only in respect of a service specified in paragraph (3);
e
the Post Office Limited;
f
the Bank of England, the European Central Bank or a national central bank of an EEA state other than the United Kingdom;
g
a government department or local authority;
h
a credit union;
i
a municipal bank; or
j
the National Savings Bank.
2
A person who contravenes paragraph (1) is guilty of an offence and is liable—
a
on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both;
b
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or both.
F23
A service is specified as one that may be provided by a credit institution under paragraph (1)(da) only to the extent that the credit institution was providing the service in the United Kingdom immediately before exit day in accordance with the exercise of an EEA passport right under Title 5 of Directive 2013/36/EU as in force immediately before exit day and the service is necessary as specified in paragraph (4).
4
This paragraph applies where the service is necessary—
a
for the performance of a contract entered into before exit day and provided for the purposes of performing such a contract or to redeem outstanding electronic money;
b
for the purpose of reducing the financial risk of a party to a contract entered into before exit day or of a third party affected by the performance of such a contract;
c
in order to transfer the property, rights or liabilities under a contract entered into before exit day to a person authorised to carry on a regulated activity under section 31(1)(a) of FSMA (other than a person authorised to carry on a regulated activity under that section of FSMA by virtue of the provisions contained in the Financial Services Contracts (Transitional and Saving Provision) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019); or
d
in order to comply with a requirement imposed by or under an enactment.
5
For the purposes of paragraph (4)(a), the performance of a contract entered into before exit day includes the performance of an obligation under the contract which is contingent or conditional.