The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched a public consultation to explore new Guidelines for the prevention of money laundering. The Guidelines detail the steps that Payment Service Providers (PSPs), Intermediary PSPs (IPSPs), crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), and Intermediary CASPs (ICASPs) should undertake to identify missing or incomplete information accompanying transfers of funds or crypto-assets.

The Guidelines also outline the procedures that these providers should establish to manage transfers lacking required information. The primary objective is to establish a shared understanding among PSPs, IPSPs, CASPs, ICASPs, and competent authorities throughout the European Union to ensure consistent compliance with EU law and strengthen the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. The consultation period is set to conclude on 26 February 2024.

The main goal of the Guidelines The primary aim of the Guidelines is to thwart the misuse of funds and crypto-asset transfers for terrorist financing and other financial crimes. Additionally, they aim to enable relevant authorities to effectively trace such transfers when necessary for the prevention, detection, or investigation of money laundering and terrorist financing. The EBA encourages the development of a common understanding among stakeholders regarding effective procedures for detecting and managing transfers lacking required information on the payer/originator and the payee/beneficiary.

During the consultation process, interested parties can submit comments through the EBA's consultation page until the February 26 deadline. A public hearing on the consultation paper is scheduled for 17 January 2024 from 14:00 to 16:00 Paris time. All received contributions will be made public after the consultation period unless specified otherwise.

The legal foundation of the Guidelines The legal foundation for these Guidelines stems from the European Commission's legislative package in July 2021, which included a recast of Regulation (EU) 2015/847, now Regulation (EU) 2023/1113. This recast aligns the EU's legal framework with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, extending the Travel Rule obligations to include information about the originator and beneficiary for CASPs. It also subjects CASPs to the same AML/CFT requirements and supervision as credit and financial institutions under Directive (EU) 2015/849.

Mandated by Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 and Article 19a(2) of Directive (EU) 2015/849, the EBA is tasked with issuing guidelines concerning the measures that providers should take to comply with certain articles of Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, technical aspects of its application to direct debits, and measures for the identification and verification of the identity of the originator or beneficiary of a transfer involving a self-hosted address. .