The Japan Financial Services Agency has updated the information for its FinTech Support Desk by publishing an outline of common questions and answers drawn from consultations received since the desk’s establishment, reinforcing its role as a central point for consultation and information exchange for businesses developing or considering innovative financial services. The FAQs consolidate high-level regulatory interpretations on when activities may trigger registration, notification or other obligations under regimes including the Banking Act, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and the Funds Settlement Act, depending on the specific business model. Topics include changes to online identity verification under the Act on the Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds, the circumstances in which transaction verification can be relied upon through consignment between specified business operators, the scope of “crypto asset exchange business” and how ICO tokens may be regulated as crypto assets or collective investment scheme interests, and conditions for “professional token sales” including transfer restrictions and naming conventions. The material also summarises requirements for electronic payment agency services, key thresholds and exemptions for prepaid payment instruments, the tiered framework for fund transfer businesses, how tokenisation can bring certain instruments into the electronically recorded transfer rights regime with corresponding registration and disclosure implications, and licensing or registration considerations for issuing, trading, brokering or managing electronic payment instruments and related wallet services.

Original source View in tracker