UK Brings First Service Provider to Payment Systems Within Special Administration Regime

The Financial Market Infrastructure Administration (Designation of VocaLink) Order 2018 has been laid before Parliament. The Order relates to the special administration regime for operators of financial market infrastructures, which came into force on July 13, 2018. Relevant FMIs are operators of recognized payment systems, excluding recognized CCPs (which are already subject to the Banking Act resolution regime in the U.K.) and recognized central securities depositories operating a securities settlement system. However, HM Treasury is able to designate certain service providers to FMIs as infrastructure companies and so bring them within the FMI administration regime.

The Order designates VocaLink as an infrastructure company in connection with its provision of services to the operators of Faster Payments Service, Bacs and LINK. HM Treasury judges that an interruption in VocaLink's services to these operators of payment services would have a serious adverse effect on their operation.

The Order comes into force on August 9, 2018.

View the Order (SI 2018/858).

View the explanatory memorandum.

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