The Payment Services Regulations 2017

Prohibition on provision of payment services by persons other than payment service providers U.K.

138.—(1) A person may not provide a payment service in the United Kingdom, or purport to do so, unless the person is—

(a) an authorised payment institution;

(b) a small payment institution;

(c) a registered account information service provider;

F1 (d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(e) a credit institution authorised in the United Kingdom F2 ...;

[F3 (ea) [F4 after IP completion day,] 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 payment service specified in paragraph (3);]

(f) an electronic money institution which for the purposes of the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 M1 is—

(i) registered in the United Kingdom as an authorised electronic money institution or a small electronic money institution; F5 ...

F5 (ii) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F6 (fa) [F7 after IP completion day,] a relevant electronic money institution while it is exempt from the prohibitions in regulation 63(1) of the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 and this regulation by virtue of paragraph 12L of Schedule 3 to the Electronic Money, Payment Services and Payment Systems (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 but only in respect of a payment service specified in paragraph (4);]

(g) the Post Office Limited;

(h) the Bank of England, F8 ...

(i) a government department or a local authority; or

(j) exempt under regulation 3 (exemption for certain bodies).

(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, which in Scotland or Northern Ireland may not exceed the statutory maximum, or both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or both.

[F9 (3) A payment service is specified as one that may be provided by a credit institution under paragraph (1)(ea) only to the extent that the credit institution was providing the service in the United Kingdom immediately before [F10 IP completion day] in accordance with the exercise of an EEA passport right under Title 5 of Directive 2013/36/EU as in force immediately before [F10 IP completion 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 [F10 IP completion 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 [F10 IP completion 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 [F10 IP completion 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 [F10 IP completion day] includes the performance of an obligation under the contract which is contingent or conditional.

(6) A payment service is specified as one that may be provided by a relevant electronic money institution under paragraph (1)(fa) only to the extent that—

(a) the relevant electronic money institution was providing the service in the United Kingdom immediately before [F10 IP completion day] in accordance with the exercise of an EEA passport right under article 3(1) of Directive 2009/110/EC as in force immediately before [F10 IP completion day]; and

(b) the services are necessary for the performance of a contract entered into before [F10 IP completion day] and provided for the purposes of performing such a contract.

(7) In this regulation, a “relevant electronic money institution” is an EEA authorised electronic money institution which was exercising its EEA passport rights in the United Kingdom immediately before [F10 IP completion day] (other than through an establishment in the United Kingdom maintained by it or its agent) while it is exempt from the prohibitions in regulation 63(1) of the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 and this regulation by virtue of paragraph 12L of Schedule 3 to the Electronic Money, Payment Services and Payment Systems (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 138(1)(d) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Electronic Money, Payment Services and Payment Systems (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1201), reg. 1(3), Sch. 2 para. 61(a) (with reg. 4, Sch. 3 Pt. 2) (as amended by S.I. 2020/56, regs. 1, 8); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F2 Words in reg. 138(1)(e) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Electronic Money, Payment Services and Payment Systems (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1201), reg. 1(3), Sch. 2 para. 61(b) (with reg. 4, Sch. 3 Pt. 2) (as amended by S.I. 2020/56, regs. 1, 8); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F3 Reg. 138(1)(ea) inserted (6.9.2019) by The Financial Services (Electronic Money, Payment Services and Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1212), regs. 1(2), 5(2)(a)(i)

F4 Words in reg. 138(1)(ea) inserted (31.1.2020 immediately before exit day) by The Financial Services (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/56), regs. 1, 4(a)

F5 Reg. 138(1)(f)(ii) and word omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Electronic Money, Payment Services and Payment Systems (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1201), reg. 1(3), Sch. 2 para. 61(c) (with reg. 4, Sch. 3 Pt. 2) (as amended by S.I. 2020/56, regs. 1, 8); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F6 Reg. 138(1)(fa) inserted (6.9.2019) by The Financial Services (Electronic Money, Payment Services and Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1212), regs. 1(2), 5(2)(a)(ii)

F7 Words in reg. 138(1)(fa) inserted (31.1.2020 immediately before exit day) by The Financial Services (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/56), regs. 1, 4(b)

F8 Words in reg. 138(1)(h) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Electronic Money, Payment Services and Payment Systems (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1201), reg. 1(3), Sch. 2 para. 61(d) (with reg. 4, Sch. 3 Pt. 2) (as amended by S.I. 2020/56, regs. 1, 8); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F9 Reg. 138(3)-(7) inserted (6.9.2019) by The Financial Services (Electronic Money, Payment Services and Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1212), regs. 1(2), 5(2)(b)

F10 Words in reg. 138(3)-(7) substituted (31.1.2020 immediately before exit day) by The Financial Services (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/56), regs. 1, 4(c)

Marginal Citations

M1 S.I. 2011/99.