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)34;

(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.