FCA PS19-26 – Brexit – Regulatory Technical Standards

FCA PS19/26: Brexit – Regulatory Technical Standards for Customer Authentication

Background

• PS19/26: Brexit – Regulatory Technical Standards for Strong Customer Authentication and Common and Secure Open Standards of Communication
• Published by the FCA on 25 October 2019
• This policy statement PS19/26 confirms the regulatory technical standards for strong customer authentication and common and secure open standards of communication, which will apply in the UK, in the event of a no-deal exit by the UK from the EU

Impacts

The UK regulatory technical standards are substantially the same as EU technical standards designed to make electronic payments safer and more secure. This design will provide certainty for firms and maintain consumer protections.

This policy statement summarises the feedback the FCA received from its consultation and publishes the UK regulatory technical standards (UK-RTS), together with Handbook changes, which the FCA will make in the event of a no-deal exit.

This policy statement will primarily be of interest to all payment service providers, including:

• banks
• building societies
• e-money issuers
• payment institutions
• registered account information service provider
• payment initiation service providers

It will also be of interest to consumer bodies and relevant trade bodies, retailers, consumers, micro-enterprises and those involved in open banking initiatives.

Timeline with relevant dates to be logged on regulatory calendar

• Published on 25 October 2019

Next steps

Payment service providers must comply with the provisions of the UK-RTS in the event of a no-deal exit.

In August 2019, the FCA wrote to trade bodies setting out the terms of a 6-month adjustment period for implementing the EU-RTS. In the event of a no-deal exit, firms should treat those terms as applying to the UK-RTS.