Does your jurisdiction regulate Fintech services under the traditional Financial Services laws or does it have any ad hoc regulatory frameworks for fintech services? (Financial Services Laws/Ad Hoc Framework/Hybrid)
Fintech services are mainly regulated under the traditional financial Services laws, which already cover especially remote financial services. Some Fintech Services have been recently regulated.
financial services at distance Among the Financial Services Laws, the Ad hoc Belgian regulation for Fintech services are the following:
The Crypto asset provider will be soon regulated by the EU Regulation on Markets in Crypto-assets, and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937.
Among the Financial Services Laws, the hybrid Belgian regulation which regulated certain aspects of the Fintech services, are the following:
Among the other financial services Laws, the following traditional Belgian regulations will also
regulated Fintech services, knowing that remote financial services are already considered as to be
traditional financial services:
Make a list of fintech services that may obtain a licence in your jurisdiction?
What is(are) the name(s) of the regulatory authority(ies) responsible to grant licences and regulate fintech service providers? If there is more than one, please list which fintech services are regulated by which authority.
The Financial Services and Markets Authorities (“FSMA”) is the supervisory authority of the financial
market. This authority is responsible notably for:
The national bank of Belgium is responsible notably for granting licence to and supervise the :
FSMA and the BNB, supervise the correct application of the money laundering regulation (AML) by
the undertaking for which they grant a licence.
Are there any specific restrictions on the types of fintech services that can be offered in and/or from your jurisdiction?
Financial services are, like in any others European countries, strictly regulated. The Fintech Services
are also for most of them subject to this regulation and in a stricter manner when those services are
provided to non-professional clients/consumers.
Once complying with those regulations (prudential, contractual and diligence rules), Fintech Services
are not, as such, subject to any restriction in Belgium.
Is reverse solicitation allowed in your jurisdiction, for fintech firms licensed in other reputable jurisidictions? (Meaning that a third-country fintech firm can offer services to clients in your jurisdiction providing its at the exclusive initiative of the client).
Reverse solicitation in Belgium is, under common law, allowed by complying with very strict conditions
related to the localisation of the characteristic performance of the financial services performed and
the absence of any marketing done in Belgium directly or indirectly by the foreign undertaking
providing such financial services.
MifiD II provides for a special regime for the reverse solicitation. The reserve solicitation is allowed
only if the client as requested the financial services at its exclusive own initiative and if the investment
undertaking has no directed its activities by any means in Belgium.
Similar regime of reverse solicitation is provided in the draft of CRD6 (Credit institutions).
Are there any specific requirements for companies providing fintech services in your jurisdiction?
Yes, such services are in general regulated by : (-) prudential rules (licence needed) -including capital
requirements, governance and management, risk management- (-) diligence rules including AML rules,
(-) pre contractual and contractual,(-) etc…
Those requirements depend of the kind of Fintech Services concerned. We refer to our above answers
to the previous questions.
Are there any specific consumer protection measures that apply to fintech services in your jurisdiction?
Most of the financial regulations at the Belgium and European level provide specials rules for the
protection of retail customers/consumer customers (Mifid 2, EU Prospectus Regulation, AIFMD,
consumers loans, PSD2, etc…).
Most of these regulations require financial undertakings to comply with stricter marketing, pre-contractual (information and diligence rules), contractual rules (content of the contract and the way
this contract must be performed) and rules of conduct related essentially to the knowledge of the
customer and its ability to subscribe to the financial product concerned.
Some very risky financial products are also prohibited for sale to non-professional
customers/consumer customers.
Are there any other legal issues that companies should be aware of when providing fintech services in your jurisdiction?
Companies operating in Belgium need to consider that Belgium regulation of Fintech Services are
mainly regulated at a European Level.
Are virtual assets (such as cryptocurrencies and) permitted in your jurisdiction? (Yes/No)
Yes
If the answer is Yes, is there any licensing /authorisation/notification process that needs to be followed for a person to issue a new virtual asset? (Yes/No)
No. However, this will change with the upcoming implementation of MiCA in Europe.
If the answer is Yes, please provide a summary of the process that needs to be followed by a person to issue a new virtual asset).
See above answer.
Are Virtual Asset service providers regulated in your jurisdiction? (Yes/No)
See above answer. In addition, their advertising to consumers is currently regulated by the Royal
Decree of 5 January 2023 approving the regulation of the Authority for Financial Services and Markets
making the marketing of the marketing of virtual currencies to consumers subject to restrictive
conditions to consumers.
If the answer to your previous question is Yes, please provide a summary of the framework that regulates such service providers explaining which licence(s) need to be obtained from which authority(ies).
N/A
Are you as a firm providing services and advice relating to Virtual Assets? (Yes/No)
Yes
Please feel free to add any pertinent comments in addition to your answers.
N/A
Lallemand Legros & Joyn (LLJ)
Chaussée de la Hulpe 181/24,
1170 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 2 738 02 80
Lallemand Legros & Joyn (LLJ)
Ebene Junction Suite 109,
rue de la Démocratie,
Ebene, 72203
Republic of Mauritius
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