European Commission Adopts Digital Finance Package

14/01/2021

On 24 September 2020, the European Commission adopted a new digital finance package, made up of a digital finance strategy, a retail payments strategy, legislative proposals for an EU regulatory framework on crypto-assets, and proposals for an EU regulatory framework on digital operational resilience.

The proposed legislation on crypto-assets known as the 'Regulation on Markets in Crypto Assets' (MiCA) aims to provide legal clarity and certainty for crypto-assets issuers and providers including for the issuers of stablecoins citing more stringent requirements such as terms of capital, investor rights and supervision. The Digital Finance Package also includes of the Digital Finance Strategy which aims to level the playing field among providers of financial services whether it is traditional banks or technology companies. 

Another strategy adopted by the European Commission is the Retail Payment Strategy which aims to bring safe, fast and reliable payment services to European citizens and businesses through instant cross-border payment solutions and fully integrated retail payments.

Lastly, the Digital Finance Package also propose legislation on digital operational resilience known as the 'Digital Operational Resilience Act' (DORA) aimed to ensure that risks of cyber-attacks and related disruptions and threats are mitigated by IT providers for financial firms and the providers of financial services themselves.