A Bureau de Change is a business that provides members of the public with a service that involves buying or selling foreign currency.
A Money Transmission Service means a service provided by a credit institution or specialist Money Transmission Business to send money, usually abroad
- by means of a message or other form of communication, or
- by means of a transfer instrument, or
- by means of a clearing network.
The supervisory regime was introduced to comply with the recommendations of the OCED sponsored body, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, which requires member countries to authorise and supervise Bureaux de Change and Money Transmission Businesses for anti-money laundering purposes and to prevent the financing of terrorism.
The Financial Regulator is responsible for the approval of certain charges imposed by a Bureau de Change or Money Transmission Business in accordance with Section 149A of the Consumer Credit Act, 1995 (as amended).
It is also responsible for monitoring the anti-money laundering and prevention of the financing of terrorism measures adopted by Bureaux de Change and Money Transmission Businesses.
Important Notice
The European Communities (Payment Services) Regulations, 2009 (Statutory Instrument no. 383 of 2009) (“the Payment Services Regulations”) transpose Directive 2007/64/EC on Payment Services in the Internal Market (“the Payment Services Directive”) into Irish Law. The Payment Services Regulations will affect the authorisation and supervision of money transmitters currently authorised in Ireland under Part V of the Central Bank Act, 1997, as amended. The principal aim of the Payment Services Directive is to provide a simplified and fully harmonised set of rules to enhance efficiency in the European payment services market.
Transitional Arrangements
A firm authorised by the Financial Regulator to provide money transmission services and engaged in the provision of such services before 25 December 2007 may avail of the transitional provisions set out in Article 88 of the Payment Services Directive (Regulation 115 of the Payment Services Regulations) whereby the firm may continue to provide such activities in Ireland until 30 April 2011 without the requirement to be authorised under the Payment Services Regulations.
Authorisation as a Payment Institution
Should a firm wish to continue to provide payment services after 30 April 2011 it will have to obtain authorisation as a payment institution by the Financial Regulator. An application for authorisation as a payment institution must be submitted sufficiently in advance of this date in order to allow for processing of the application. Within three months of receipt of an application or, should the application be incomplete, of all the information required for the decision, the Financial Regulator shall inform the firm whether the application has been granted or refused.
It should be noted that until such time as a firm is authorised as a payment institution it cannot passport its services into other Member States.
The Financial Regulator is currently accepting applications for authorisation as a payment institution from firms. An application form is available on the Financial Regulator’s website - http://www.financialregulator.ie/industry-sectors/payment-institutions/Pages/forms.aspx.