FinTech Global FS Regulatory Round-up - w/e 30 January 2026

ICYMI

• 2026 Global FSR Outlook: The Human Element
• Preparing for FCA authorisation as the UK cryptoasset regime nears completion
• UK Jurisdiction Taskforce consults on draft legal statement on liability for AI harms

UK

FCA speech on the long term review of AI in retail financial services

The FCA has published a speech by its Executive Director of Consumers and Competition, Sheldon Mills, at the regulator's Supercharged Sandbox Showcase event. Mr Mills spoke about the recently launched FCA review into the implications of advanced AI on consumers, retail financial markets and regulators, for which he serves as the lead.

The review will consider how emerging uses of AI could influence consumers, markets and firms, looking towards 2030 and beyond. The FCA is seeking views on the opportunities and risks of AI becoming more capable, how AI could reshape competition and the customer relationship, and how existing regulatory frameworks may need to adapt. The response deadline is 24 February 2026.

Mr Mills will report to the FCA Board in Summer 2026 with recommendations to support the regulator in its role in shaping AI-enabled financial services. #AI

FCA explains AI Live Testing

The FCA has published a blog by its Head of Department – Advanced Analytics and Data Science Unit, Ed Towers, explaining how AI Live Testing can support 'safe and responsible deployment'.

The FCA has opened the application window for the second AI Live Testing cohort; applications are due by 2 March 2026. Testing starts from April 2026, and the FCA will notify successful firms by mid-March 2026. #AI

PSR: APP scams reimbursement dashboard for Q3 2025

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has updated its authorised push payment (APP) scams dashboard for Q3 2025. The data for Q3 includes:

• reimbursement rates for claims in scope of the policy remain high, increasing slightly by 1% from Q2 2025;
• the proportion of claims resolved in five days dropped to 78% in Q3 2025 from 82% in Q2 2025;
• Q3 saw around 62,000 reimbursable claims; and
• the number of claims rejected due to insufficient consumer caution remains low, with 3% rejected in Q3 2025. #Payments

HM Treasury: Two appointed to lead the rollout of AI in the City

HM Treasury has announced that the appointments to lead the rollout of AI in financial services - Harriet Rees from Starling Bank and Dr Rohit Dhawan from Lloyds Banking Group. They were jointly appointed by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister. The appointments began on 20 January 2026 and run to 30 September 2026, with the possibility of extension.

The champions will focus on helping firms seize opportunities at pace while protecting consumers and financial stability. They will report directly to the Economic Secretary.

The Terms of Reference (ToR) was also published by HM Treasury. #AI

FCA confirms application period for new cryptoasset regulated activities

The FCA has updated its webpage: A new regime for cryptoasset regulation to advise that the application period for firms that want to undertake the new cryptoasset regulated activities will be open from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027. #Cryptoasset

FCA extends Stablecoin Sprint registration deadline

The FCA has updated its webpage on the March 2026 Stablecoin Sprint to extend the registration deadline. Interested parties will now have until 8 February 2026 to register for the event. #Stablecoin

BoE speech on shaping the UK's digital financial future

The Bank of England (BoE) has published a speech by Sasha Mills, Executive Director of Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI), at the Tokenisation Summit. At the Summit, Ms Mills outlined the innovation priorities for the coming year including: progressing the systemic stablecoins regime; clarifying how tokenised collateral can operate under UK European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR); and expanding the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS). She highlighted the importance of resilience, proportionate supervision of FMIs and strong international coordination to support safe innovation and safeguard financial stability. #Tokenisation #Stablecoin

FSRC launches stablecoin inquiry

The Financial Services Regulation Committee (FSRC) of the House of Lords has opened a new inquiry on the growth and proposed regulation of stablecoins in the UK. The committee is seeking evidence on the following questions:

• How has the global market for, and the issuance of, stablecoins developed since 2014? How does the UK market compare to the US and the EU?
• How is the sterling denominated stablecoin market in the UK expected to develop in the coming years?
• What opportunities and risks does the growth of stablecoins pose for the UK economy, financial services sector and retail customers?
• How will the growth of stablecoins impact the BoE, PRA and FCA's statutory objectives?
• What are the implications of the proposed UK regulatory regimes pose for the adoption and growth of systemic and non-systemic stablecoins in the UK, and internationally?
• What can the UK learn from the way other jurisdictions have approached the regulation of stablecoins?

Written evidence is requested by 11 March 2026. #Stablecoin

OFSI and partners target misuse of cryptoassets

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has announced that it is working closely with UK law enforcement and regulatory partners to tackle the abuse of cryptoassets and associated money laundering activities.

OFSI is taking part in the Crypto Cash Fusion Cell (CCFC) – a pilot multiagency initiative that brings together the National Crime Agency, the Metropolitan Police Service, His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the FCA, City of London Police. The CCFC targets criminal funds linked to sanctions offences. #Cryptoasset

FCA launches a review into the implications of advanced AI on consumers, retail financial markets and regulators

The FCA has launched a review into the implications of advanced AI on consumers, retail financial markets and regulators. The Review is to be led by Sheldon Mills, Through an Engagement Paper, the FCA is seeking views on four interrelated themes:

• how AI could evolve in the future;
• how these developments could affect markets and firms;
• the impact on consumers; and
• how financial regulators may need to evolve.

The review builds on the FCA's existing work on AI including its October 2022 AI Discussion Paper; the January 2025 AI Sprint; and the AI Lab, including AI Live Testing and its Supercharged Sandbox.

Feedback is requested by 24 February 2026. It will inform a series of recommendations to be reported to the FCA Board in summer 2026. An external publication will follow. #AI #SuperchargedSandbox

Europe

ESMA publishes guidelines for the criteria on the assessment of knowledge and competence under MiCAR

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published guidelines for the criteria on the assessment of knowledge and competence under the Markets in Cryptoassets Regulation (MiCAR). These guidelines apply from six months from the date of their publication on ESMA's website, in all official EU languages. #MiCAR #Cryptoassets

EP: A briefing on resilience of the Banking Union's non-cash payment systems

A briefing prepared for the European Parliament (EP) by the Economic Governance and European Monetary Union (EMU) Scrutiny Unit has been published. The briefing discusses the resilience of the Banking Union's non-cash payment systems, how geopolitical actors could potentially exclude European banks from vital payment services and whether the current legal and operational frameworks provide sufficient protection against such risks. The briefing makes reference to data protection matters, the Digital Euro and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). #DigitalEuro #DORA

ECB announces acceptance of DLT-based assets as eligible Eurosystem collateral

The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced that the Eurosystem will accept marketable assets issued in central securities depositories (CSDs) using DLT as eligible collateral for Eurosystem credit operations as of 30 March 2026. These assets must comply with Eurosystem collateral eligibility criteria and collateral management requirements, and will be mobilised as collateral in line with the Eurosystem's existing collateral management practices, like any other marketable asset. #DLT

Australia

ASIC: Key issues outlook 2026

ASIC has announced the key financial issues it intends to prioritise in 2026. Among the issues are:

• advanced technology harming consumers (including agentic AI);
• cyber-attacks, data breaches and/or inadequate operational resilience and crisis management undermine market confidence and harm consumers; and
• regulatory gaps related to emerging financial sector participants (digital assets, payments, users of AI) and others on the regulatory perimeter. #AI #DigitalAsset #Payments

ASIC: BPS Financial to pay $14 million in penalties over crypto Qoin Wallet

The Federal Court of Australia has ordered BPS Financial Pty Ltd to pay $14m in penalties for conduct relating to its crypto product, the 'Qoin Wallet'.

The penalties follow the Court's findings in 2024 and 2025 that BPS made misleading representations about the Qoin Wallet, operated and promoted it without holding an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and incorrectly relied on the 'authorised representative' exemption under the Corporations Act 2001.

The Court also made orders restraining conduct, requiring an adverse publicity notice to be published and paying ASIC's costs. #Crypto

Hong Kong

SFC and UAE's CMA sign milestone MoU to strengthen cross-border digital asset collaboration

The SFC and the Capital Market Authority (CMA) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen cross-border regulatory collaboration on digital asset-related matters, the SFC's first agreement with an overseas regulator dedicated to supervisory collaboration on regulated digital asset entities.

The MoU establishes a framework to enhance regulatory cooperation, including mutual consultation and information exchange for supervising cross-border regulated digital asset entities.

The signing of the MoU followed an industry roundtable on digital asset innovation, where the SFC and the CMA convened senior executives from the digital asset industry to discuss the digital asset ecosystem. The regulators reaffirmed at the roundtable their shared vision to develop their digital asset markets sustainably through balanced regulation, and position both jurisdictions as forward-looking digital asset hubs. Industry leaders also shared market insights and operational experiences.

The SFC and the CMA also co-hosted a high-level roundtable with senior executives of Hong Kong's leading asset managers, to further the asset management-related ties between Hong Kong and the UAE, and build on the Mutual Recognition of Funds MoU signed in September 2025 (see our previous update). Co-chaired by the CEOs of the SFC and the CMA, attendees explored diverse opportunities to expand their business footprint in the UAE. An industry seminar was also co-hosted by the regulators earlier in the day to enhance Hong Kong asset managers' understanding of the regulatory requirements to distribute funds in the UAE. #DigitalAsset

Thailand

SECT consults on proposed changes to tokenised funds sale and redemption regulations

The Securities and Exchange Commission Thailand (SECT) has published a consultation on proposed principles for amending the regulations governing the sale and redemption of mutual fund units issued in tokenized form. The proposals are intended to enable faster transaction processing and enhance the clarity and appropriateness of the related regulations. Feedback is requested by 11 February 2026. #Tokenisation

US

SEC and CFTC Chairs address Project Crypto event

The Securities and Exchange (SEC) has published the opening remarks delivered by its Chair, Paul S. Atkins, at the Joint SEC-CFTC Harmonization Event – Project Crypto on January 29 (event video). Chair Atkins explained that Project Crypto has been designed in such a way that when Congress legislates, both the CFTC and the SEC will be ready to implement 'faithfully and thoughtfully'.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has released the remarks made by its Chair, Michael S. Selig, at the event. Chair Selig highlighted that the agencies were partnering on Project Crypto rather than running parallel initiatives to implement the forthcoming legislation. The SEC and CFTC will, "advance a clear crypto asset taxonomy, clarify jurisdictional lines, remove duplicative compliance requirements, and reduce regulatory fragmentation," explained Chair Selig. With a taxonomy in place, the agencies will move on to consideration of how blockchain can be leveraged to improve both market resilience and functions.

Chair Atkins and Chair Selig have also co-authored a news article which has been republished to the CFTC website.

Additionally, Chair Selig issued a statement welcoming the Senate Agriculture Committee's work to advance the legislation. #Crypto

SEC Divisions issue statement on tokenized securities

The SEC's Division of Corporate Finance, Investment Management and Trading and Markets have issued a statement on tokenized securities which aims to provide more clarity on how federal securities laws apply. The statement covers both issuer-sponsored and third party-sponsored tokenized securities (including custodial and synthetic forms). #Tokenisation

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