Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority consults on rule changes for payment services, e-money and currency exchange to reflect proposed licensing requirements

The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen, FI) has launched a consultation on amendments to its regulations and general guidelines for currency exchange, electronic money and payment services, mainly to align its rulebooks with the Swedish government’s legislative proposals. The proposals would move currency exchange from a registration regime to an authorisation requirement, remove the possibility of exemptions from authorisation for issuing electronic money, and narrow the exemption from authorisation for payment services so that it remains only for account information services. The package also proposes changes for payment institutions and electronic money institutions when calculating capital requirements under method A or B, requiring the calculation to be based on the 12-month period immediately preceding the calculation date rather than the 12-month period corresponding to the most recently completed financial year. The consultation covers amendments to FI’s relevant rulebooks, including FFFS 2010:3, FFFS 2011:49, FFFS 2018:4 and FFFS 2023:22. FI proposes that the changes enter into force on 1 July 2025, with certain provisions deferred to 1 January 2026; registered payment service providers and registered electronic money issuers would apply the existing rules during a transitional period. Written comments are due by 14 March 2025.