Distance Selling (Retail Financial Services)

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta Nru. 20,324, 7 ta’ Jannar, 2020

Taqsima B

L.N. 2 of 2020

MALTA FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY ACT

(CAP. 330)

Distance Selling (Retail Financial Services)

(Amendment) Regulations, 2020

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by articles 20A and 20B

of the Malta Financial Services Authority Act, the Minister

responsible for the regulation of Financial Services, acting on the

advice of the Malta Financial Services Authority as the competent

authority for the purposes of the Act, has made the following

regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Distance Selling Citation and

(Retail Financial Services) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 and these scope .

regulations shall be read and construed as one with the Distance S.L. 330.07.

Selling (Retail Financial Services) Regulations, hereinafter referred to

as "the principal regulations".

(2) The purpose of these regulations is, in part, to transpose

Article 110 of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament

and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the

internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and

2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing

Directive 2007/64/EC.

Sub-regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the principal Amends

regulation 2 of

regulations shall be amended as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a) immediately after the definition "the Act", there shall

be added the following new definitions

" "Arbiter" means the Arbiter for Financial Services

appointed under article 14 of the Arbiter for Financial

Services Act;

"Central Bank" means the Central Bank of Malta as

defined by the Central Bank of Malta Act;";

(b) immediately after the definition "consumer", there

shall be added the following new definition

" "the CRD" means Directive 2013/36/EU of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on

the access to the activity of credit institutions and the

prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment

firms, amending Directive 2002/ 87/EC and repealing

Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC, as amended from

time to time, and includes any implementing measures that

have been or may be issued thereunder;";

(c) immediately after the definition "EEA State", there

shall be added the following new definition

" "Electronic Money Directive" means Directive

2009/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 16 September 2009 on the taking up, pursuit

and prudential supervision of the business of electronic

money institutions amending Directives 2005/60/EC and

2006/48/EC and repealing Directive 2000/46/EC, as may

be amended from time to time, and includes any

implementing

measures,

implementing

technical

standards, regulatory technical standards and similar

measures that have been or may be issued thereunder;";

(d)

the definition "Minister" shall be deleted; and

(e) immediately after the definition "Member State",

there shall be added the following new definitions

" "payment service" means any business activity set

out in the Second Schedule to the Financial Institutions

Act;

"Payment Services Directive" means Directive (EU)

2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal

market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC

and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and

repealing Directive 2007/64/EC, as may be amended from

time to time, and includes any implementing measures,

implementing technical standards, regulatory technical

standards and similar measures that have been or may be

issued thereunder;

"payment service provider" means

(a) credit institutions as defined in article

2(1) of the Banking Act, including branches thereof

as defined in article 2(1) of the Banking Act where

such branches are located in the European Union,

irrespective of whether the head offices of those

branches are located within the European Union or,

in accordance with Article 47 of the CRD and with

national law, outside the European Union;

(b) electronic money institutions as defined in

article 2(1) of the Financial Institutions Act, being

companies, that have been granted authorisation

under Title II of the Electronic Money Directive to

issue electronic money, including, in accordance with

Article 8 of that Directive and with national law,

branches thereof, where such branches are located

within the European Union and their head offices are

located outside the European Union, in as far as the

payment services provided by those branches are

linked to the issuance of electronic money;

(c) post office giro institutions which are

entitled under national law of any Member State to

provide payment services;

(d) payment institutions as defined in article

2(1) of the Financial Institutions Act;

(e) account information service providers as

defined in article 2(1) of the Financial Institutions

Act;

(f) the European Central Bank and national central

banks when not acting in their capacity as monetary

authority or other public authorities; or

(g) Member States or their regional or local

authorities when not acting in their capacity as public

authorities.".

Paragraph (d) of sub-regulation (1) of regulation 5 of the Amends of

regulation 5 of

principal regulations shall be amended as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a) in sub-paragraph (i) thereof, the words "to the

supplier, the relevant contact details", shall be substituted by the

words "to the supplier and the relevant contact details";

(b) sub-paragraph (ii) thereof, shall be substituted by the

following

"(ii) that the Arbiter offers an out-of-court

complaints mechanism for the consumer that is party to the

distance contract and the methods for having access

thereto;";

(c) in sub-paragraph (iv) thereof, the words "any

compensation schemes or other compensation arrangements

or guarantees funds as may be applicable.", shall be

substituted by the words "any compensation schemes or other

compensation arrangements or guarantees funds as may be

applicable:"; and immediately thereafter there shall be added the

following new provisos

"Provided that paragraphs (a), (b)(i), (b)(ii), (c)(ii),

(c)(iii), (c)(vi), (c)(vii), (d)(i), (d)(ii) and (d)(iii) shall not

apply to suppliers which are payment service providers

Provided further that Articles 44, 45, 51 and 52 of

the Payment Services Directive as transposed in directives

issued by the Central Bank under the Central Bank of

Malta Act shall also apply to suppliers which are payment

service providers.".

Regulation 12 of the principal regulations shall be amended

as follows

(a) in sub-regulation (1) thereof, the words "the

Consumer Complaints Manager who shall investigate such

complaint in accordance with article 20 of the Act.", shall

be substituted by the words "the Arbiter in terms of the

Arbiter for Financial Services Act."; and

(b) in sub-regulation (2) thereof, the words "The

Consumer Complaints Manager", shall be substituted by

the words "The Arbiter for Financial Services".

€0.18