Technology Service Providers (TSPs) are one type of entity permitted to apply to the Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago (CBTT) (Homepage | Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (central-bank.org.tt) to be registered as an e-money issuer (EMI) in Trinidad & Tobago under the E-Money Issuer Order, 2020 & the E-Money Issuer (Amendment) Order, 2023 (see E-MONEY ISSUERS or EMIs – Tenoreque Legal (tenorequelegalandconsulting.com) for the definition of an EMI).
A TSP is defined as “an entity or a person who provides hardware or software that allows a Payment Service Provider to provide payment services or instruments as well as the clearing and settlement of instruments.” (Section 2 of the E-Money Issuer Order, 2020). To be registered as a TSP the entity has to satisfy the requirements of the E-Money Issuer Order, 2020 & the E-Money Issuer (Amendment) Order, 2023 and to be able to conduct payment service activities, it has to also be registered as a Payment Service Provider (PSP). Both of these registrations can be done simultaneously. PSP registration is made according to the Central Bank Act and is conducted under the CBTT’s Payment Systems Guideline No. 3. At the time of writing this blog, no application fee is required for PSP registration however registration and other fees are associated with EMI registration (which will be discussed in a subsequent blog).
PSPs are entities that provide “services that are necessary to support the issuance of payment instruments as well as the acceptance, clearance and settlement of claims generated from the use of these payment instruments.” (Clause 2, Payment Systems Guideline No. 3). PSPs include institutions licensed under the Financial Institutions Act, 2002 to do “banking business” or “business of a financial nature”. “Banking business” and “business of banking” includes payment card business and business of commercial banking and “business of a financial nature” includes the issuance of e-money (see Clause 3, Payment Systems Guideline No. 3). (For a definition of e-money see E-MONEY ISSUERS or EMIs – Tenoreque Legal (tenorequelegalandconsulting.com)).
In addition to TSPs, the other categories of persons, other than licensees, that may apply to the CBTT to be an EMI are (i) entities registered with the Central Bank as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) or Payment System Operator (PSO) (ii) Money Remitters registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit – Trinidad and Tobago (fiu.gov.tt) (iii) Mobile Network Operators authorised by the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (Home – TATT); and (iv) other financial institutions, such as credit unions, insurance companies and the Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation (Homepage – Unit Trust Corporation (ttutc.com)) (see Section 3 (1) of the E-Money Issuer Order, 2020).
The three main regulators for EMIs in Trinidad & Tobago are the – CBTT, Trinidad & Tobago Securities & Exchange Commission (TTSEC | You Invest. We protect. Everyone Benefits!) and the FIUTT. Depending on an EMI’s business model, products or services, other regulators may govern the entity’s operations.
An EMI Application should be considered and completed by entities that want to be an EMI, have a finished e-money product or service and have submitted all required documentation in anticipation of moving to the next step of the Trinidad & Tobago regulatory process.
Under the E-Money Issuer Order, 2020, EMIs are only permitted to conduct EMI activities in our local currency – Trinidad & Tobago Dollars, and the activities that EMIs can engage in are (a) issuance of e-money accounts (b) cash-in (c) cash-out (d) provision of payment services; and (e) money transfers or remittances.
EMIs are prohibited from (a) co-mingling e-money account holder’s funds with the EMI or any other entity or person (ii) buying, selling or dealing in foreign currency (iii) granting credit; and (iv) issuing or permitting joint accounts.
See FINTECH | Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (central-bank.org.tt) , Fintech in Trinidad & Tobago #law #shorts #youtube #youtubeshorts #fintechtt and https://thelegalcornerpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1876478/13359516 for more information and stay tuned for further fintech blogs