What's changing in crypto banking
Briefings on crypto banking, stablecoin and payments regulation, with what each change means for businesses that need bank and merchant accounts.
· United Kingdom · Business paymentsUK APP scam reimbursement in 2026: is your business payment covered?
UK scam reimbursement does not cover every business or transfer. The PSR's 2026 figures show its effect, but eligibility and payment type still decide which losses fall within the rules.
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· European Union · Crypto business bankingMiCA after 1 July 2026: what crypto firms need for EU banking
The EU's maximum MiCA transition ended on 1 July 2026. A legacy registration is not an EU passport, and authorisation is not a promise of a bank account.
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· Europe · Business paymentsSEPA name mismatch: Verification of Payee checks for business and virtual IBANs
A beneficiary-name warning is not automatically a rejected transfer. What businesses should check about legal names, virtual IBANs and SEPA Verification of Payee before paying or collecting euros.
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· United Kingdom · Crypto business bankingUK crypto debanking inquiry: what the APPG evidence means for your business account
The APPG on Crypto and Digital Assets is collecting evidence on UK firms being denied or losing bank accounts. This briefing explains what the inquiry covers, why banks decline crypto businesses, and how to prepare a file a bank can actually approve.
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· European Union · Crypto business bankingStablecoin payments in Europe: does MiCA authorisation cover PSD2?
MiCA authorisation does not automatically cover every stablecoin payment service. The EBA's 2026 opinion explains the PSD2 overlap and why banking files need an activity-by-activity permissions map.
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· United Kingdom · E-money accountsUK EMI safeguarding rules in 2026: are your business funds protected?
FCA safeguarding changes took effect on 7 May 2026. Here is what European businesses should check about an EMI account, fund protection and access to settlement money.
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· Cross-border paymentsSwift ISO 20022 address deadline extended: what businesses should check
Swift has extended its structured-address migration timeline. Cross-border businesses should confirm their bank's requirements and clean beneficiary data, not assume every payment change is postponed.
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· United Kingdom · Payment servicesUK payments reform: consumer panel urges protection alongside innovation
In its 6 October response to Treasury, the Financial Services Consumer Panel calls for resilience, transparent costs and protection against fraud and provider failure. Its response is not a new rule.
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· Euro area · PaymentsECB invites online merchants to join the digital euro pilot
E-commerce and mobile-commerce merchants can express interest by 27 October 2026. The planned pilot is a test of payment infrastructure, not a decision to launch a digital euro.
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· European Union · Offshore structuringEU tax-list update: Panama and Viet Nam leave Annex I, BVI stays under monitoring
The Council's 9 October update moves Panama and Viet Nam to Annex II and removes Belize from monitoring. BVI remains in Annex II, a different status from the EU's non-cooperative list.
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· United KingdomUK opens FCA authorisation window for crypto firms ahead of 2027 regime
The FCA's application window for crypto firms runs from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, ahead of the UK's full cryptoasset regulatory regime taking effect on 25 October 2027.
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· United KingdomFCA money mule review puts EMI onboarding under the microscope
The FCA's September 2026 review shows e-money institutions recorded the steepest rise in suspected money mule account closures, up 164.6% year on year, with three quarters of those accounts shut within six months of opening.
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· European UnionESMA gives EU crypto platforms three months to cut off non-MiCA stablecoins
The EU's securities regulator has told MiCA-authorised platforms to stop all services involving stablecoins that lack EU authorisation, including USDT, with existing customer holdings to be wound down by 8 January 2027.
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· TurkeyTurkey cancels over 6,000 citizenship by investment decisions
Turkey's Ministry of Interior has cancelled or withdrawn 6,134 citizenship by investment decisions, including 1,413 principal investors, in a major review of the programme's compliance and documentation integrity.
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· LatviaLatvia's new €150,000 investment residence route already faces repeal
Latvia's newly introduced €150,000 investment-fund residence route may disappear before it becomes operational, a repeal bill is already in committee, and the qualifying state fund has not yet been created.
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· European UnionEU extends individual Russia sanctions for three more years
The Council of the EU has extended the bloc's individual restrictive measures against Russia under Regulation (EU) 269/2014 by 36 months, pushing the expiry date to 22 September 2029.
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· United KingdomUK FCA opens its crypto authorisation gateway
From 30 September 2026 crypto firms can apply to the FCA under the new FSMA regime. The main window closes 28 February 2027; the regime is expected to start 25 October 2027.
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· British Virgin IslandsBVI issues updated guidance on economic substance filings
The BVI International Tax Authority has released new procedural guidance for submitting economic substance declarations through the VIRRGIN portal, filing mechanics, not legal changes.
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· European UnionGreece joins the MiCA register with four providers, including Piraeus Bank
ESMA's MiCA register now lists four Greek crypto-asset service providers and 359 unique providers in total.
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· European UnionHow to classify higher-risk customers under the new EU AML framework
Under the new EU anti-money-laundering framework, a risk rating must be explained, evidenced and defended, and higher risk should trigger escalation and enhanced due diligence, not automatic refusal.
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· SingaporeSingapore: higher-risk classification is not an automatic rejection
For Singapore corporate service providers, a higher-risk customer rating is a structured risk-management conclusion, it triggers enhanced due diligence, not necessarily a declined file.
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· United StatesFederal Reserve proposes first GENIUS Act stablecoin rules for banks
Two proposals cover reserves, capital, risk management and the application process for banks that want to issue payment stablecoins. A 60-day comment period follows Federal Register publication.
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· TurkeyTurkey placed under enhanced FATF monitoring
FATF's latest mutual evaluation notes improvements in Turkey's international cooperation, but critical deficiencies have led to special measures within the enhanced follow-up process.
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· CyprusCyprus residence planning in 2026: permit, tax residence and non-dom are separate questions
Immigration residence, tax residence and non-domiciled treatment are separate legal concepts in Cyprus. A residence permit does not automatically make an individual a Cyprus tax resident.
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· European UnionEBA recommends bringing crypto lending under MiCA
The European Banking Authority wants intermediated crypto lending and borrowing, including access to DeFi lending protocols, added to MiCA's list of regulated services.
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· European UnionEU central banks call for a wider stablecoin interest ban in the MiCA review
The ECB and national central banks want the ban on stablecoin remuneration extended to lending, borrowing and staking, and reserve rules based on liquidity rather than fixed bank-deposit quotas.
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