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Catch up on some of the stories our payments compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

Singapore Payments Network Set Up To Maintain Industry Innovation

Singapore’s financial authorities have incorporated a new payments entity to oversee the country’s national payment schemes.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) have set up the as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee.

SPaN will consolidate the administration and government of Singapore’s national payment schemes, collaborate with MAS on the development of Singapore’s national payments strategy, and drive the next stage in the sector's development.

The move is intended to provide strong governance over Singapore's national and cross-border payment schemes, while promoting continuous innovation in the industry.

Its initial membership comprises MAS along with Citibank, DBS Bank, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB — the so-called Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).

Helen Wong, ABS chairman, said ABS and its member banks are committed to supporting SPaN in its mission to advance a robust and future-ready payment ecosystem that would be critical to Singapore’s economy.

“The streamlined governance of national payment schemes under SPaN will enable financial institutions to respond swiftly and innovate effectively to meet the evolving digital payment needs of consumers and businesses,” Wong said.

Lithuania Steps Up Payments Infrastructure Preparedness For War

Lithuania is set to lay the legal groundwork to protect its payments infrastructure in the event of war within its borders.

Under to Lithuania’s Law on Payments published by the Seimas on June 25, 2025, the Bank of Lithuania will implement an offline card payment system allowing consumers to make payments without an internet connection, even if their account has insufficient funds or is subject to legal restrictions.

The offline payment mode, which would only be activated during general or partial mobilisation, is intended to enable citizens to access essential goods despite communication disruptions.

However, only payment service providers (PSPs) with a mobilisation order contract would be required to provide this functionality. It is expected that the Bank of Lithuania would determine further operational conditions by means of an official resolution.

Under the proposed amendment, if offline transactions exceed account balances or breach restrictions outside an official mobilisation period, the payment recipient, that is the merchant, enabling such transactions will bear liability for it.

The draft amendments, which were approved by Seimas members and will be sent to the Principal Committee for approval, aim to ensure that during times of unrest, people can still access money.

FCA’s Stablecoin Proposals Are Strictest To Date

The UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) , issued in May 2025, outlines more rigorous compliance requirements than existing frameworks elsewhere.

The consultation paper is 239 pages long, which indicates the level of detail it aims to capture in its forthcoming regulations, and the FCA has also published a 111-page consultation paper on a potential .

Not all the material in the two consultations is directly relevant to stablecoin issuers, but the regulator recommends that the papers be read together, given the high degree of overlap between them.

The papers are key milestones in the FCA’s – the regulator aims to publish its final policy statements for the sector in early 2026, before going live with the new regime later in the year.

Both the Stablecoin Issuance and Cryptoasset Custody and the Prudential Regime For Cryptoasset Firms consultations are open for comment until July 31, 2025.

CFPB Confirms It Has No Plans To Reissue BNPL Interpretive Rule

In a move consistent with its new hands-off approach, the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has reiterated its argument against the now-withdrawn rule.

In a status report submitted to the US District Court for the District Of Columbia in reference to a lawsuit brought by the Financial Technology Association (FTA), the regulator noted that the buy now, pay later (BNPL) interpretive rule was among the withdrawn en masse in May.

It further affirmed that it has no plans to reissue the rule, which it said “inappropriately applied open-end credit regulations to closed-end BNPL loans with little benefit to consumers and substantial burden to regulated entities.”

The rule was introduced in 2024, when the CFPB had a more interventionist approach under then-director Rohit Chopra.

It sought to increase transparency and compliance requirements in the growing BNPL sector by treating BNPL digital user accounts as credit cards and their providers as card issuers.

This meant they were subject to the provisions of Regulation Z, including account opening disclosures and payment processing requirements.

The FTA brought a lawsuit challenging the rule, which its president and CEO, Penny Lee, described as “ flawed and erroneous.”

In March 2025, the CFPB and the FTA filed a joint motion to stay the lawsuit, with the agency stating its intention to revoke the rule.

Alongside the latest status report, the two organisations submitted a joint notice of voluntary dismissal, with the CFPB confirming that it will not be reissuing the rule.

“The Bureau has determined that it does not intend to reissue the BNPL Interpretive Rule because it was procedurally defective and the interpretation included therein applied ill-fitting open-end credit regulations to BNP products, which are generally structured as closed -end loans,” the agency said in its report.

China And Hong Kong Launch Cross-Border Payments Link

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) have launched Payment Connect, a new cross-boundary payment service linking the two jurisdictions’ faster payment systems.

Payment Connect will mainland China’s Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS) with Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS), enabling instant cross-border payments between residents in both locations.

The service will support transactions in both renminbi and Hong Kong dollars under the current account framework, and can be used for common remittance purposes, including salary payments, tuition fees, and medical bills.

The initiative is intended to improve the efficiency and convenience of cross-border remittances, as well as ensure compliance with the relevant regulatory requirements of both jurisdictions.

Participating financial institutions will be required to meet strict obligations on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) and counter-proliferation financing, a joint statement from the two authorities said.

Describing the project as another significant measure by the central government to support Hong Kong’s development, the joint statement added that Payment Connect would strengthen financial cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland, further bolster Hong Kong’s position as an international financial centre, and reinforce its role as a global hub for offshore renminbi business.

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