Moneybrain to continue crypto trading on FCA temporary register
JustUs’s sister company Moneybrain will continue cryptoasset trading in April under the City regulator’s temporary crypto register, which has been extended past its 31 March deadline for firms appealing the registration process.
Moneybrain, which has its own cryptocurrency BiPS, has been trading under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Temporary Registrations Regime (TRR) as it has yet to be added to the FCA’s Crypto Asset Register.
The company is appealing on the grounds that the registration has not yet been made. It has been told by the FCA it will be allowed to continue trading past the current 31 March deadline, on a new list.
The temporary register was set up in 2020 to allow existing cryptoasset firms that applied for registration before 16 December 2020, and whose applications were still being assessed, to continue trading. In June, the FCA extended the deadline from 9 July last year to 31 March 2022 to allow firms to continue to operate while the regulator continued with its “robust assessment”.
The FCA has said today (Wednesday 30 March) that after concluding its assessments, the TRR will close on 1 April, for all but for a small number of firms where “it is strictly necessary” to continue to have temporary registration, such as where a firm is pursuing an appeal or is winding down.
The regulator has told Moneybrain it can continue trading under the list until a decision notice is issued, it is added to the register, or withdraws its application.
Chief executive Lee Birkett (pictured) welcomed the FCA’s announcement but said that he has not been told why Moneybrain has not been added to the FCA’s Crypto Asset Register.
The FCA became the anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing supervisor of crypto firms in January 2020 and requires companies to show they can meet its standards and to register with it.
Birkett said he is appealing the registration process as parent company eMoneyHub already has AML and Know Your Customer (KYC) systems and is signed off for financial promotions.
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“We’re very pleased because it confirms continuity,” he said.
“The FCA said there will be a new register, the only people on it will be those in a wind-down scenario or those challenging the FCA’s registration process.
“It’s a positive outcome, it’ll be interesting to know who’s on the list on 1 April, I imagine us and a few others. There are no outstanding questions on our AML and KYC systems and controls and we’re already signed off for financial promotions as eMoneyHub.
“It’s a result for us. Whilst we’re frustrated that we haven’t appeared on the register considering there are no outstanding items for our AML systems and controls, we continue with constructive dialogues with the regulator to appear on the register at the earliest opportunity.
“We’ll continue to engage with the regulator to ensure we appear on the register. There’s an independent process for that to happen.”
Read more: Is the City regulator becoming more comfortable with crypto?
“By placing firms on our list of firms with temporary registration, this does not mean that the FCA has assessed them as fit and proper,” the FCA said in an update on its website.
“Only firms that are registered with us or on our list of firms with temporary registration can continue trading. Other firms must have ceased trading from 10 January 2021.”
Besides Moneybrain, there are currently 11 other crypto firms on the TRR, such as Revolut.
