Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- Beleaguered fintech iSignthis (ISX) has had its United Kingdom subsidiary, ISXUK, approved as an Authorised Electronic Money Institute (AEMI)
- This means the company can issue, distributed, and redeem electronic money in the U.K., as well as offer a full range of payment services
- Importantly, today’s regulatory approval gives ISXUK full access to the British market post-Brexit
- Looking ahead, iSignthis plans to connect to the U.K.’s Faster Payment Service (FPS)
- Like the E.U.’s SEPA instant services, this allows for payments between different bank accounts to settle in just a matter of seconds
- Today’s news comes amid an ongoing legal battle between iSignthis and the Australian share market operator
- Shares in iSignthis last traded for $1.07 each in early October 2019
Beleaguered fintech iSignthis (ISX) has had its United Kingdom subsidiary, ISXUK, approved as an Authorised Electronic Money Institute (AEMI).
The approval comes from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, which is the country’s financial regulatory body.
Typically, an AEMI acts just like a bank but without the right to issue loans. This means users can store their money in online accounts and make payments and transfers completely electronically, all through the AEMI.
For ISXUK, the authorisation as an electronic money institute means the company can issue, distribute, and redeem electronic money and offer a full range of payment services.
These payment services include placements and withdrawals from payment accounts, payment transactions both with and without credit line cover, remittance services, and more. The company can also retrieve account data from other banks and financial institutions.
iSignthis said this AEMI approval and authorisation as an Account Information Services Provider (AISP) is a similar concept to the “open banking” Consumer Data Right (CDR) in Australia, which is regulated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Importantly, today’s AEMI approval gives ISXUK full access to the British market post-Brexit.
ISX told shareholders the service is now able to provide business customers real-time, chargeback-free, and faster settlement alternatives to rival conventional card scheme acquiring services.
What’s next?
Looking ahead, iSignthis said ISXUK will now be looking to connect to the U.K.’s Faster Payment Service (FPS), which is designed to allow for payments between different bank accounts to settle in just a matter of seconds.
The company’s services are already linked to the E.U. equivalent of the FPS, SEPA instant, through the Eurosystem Central Bank of Lithuania.
Today’s news comes amid an ongoing legal battle between iSignthis and the Australian share market operator.
What started as a fight to get ISX shares back up and trading on the ASX has escalated since October last year, and iSignthis is now chasing almost half a billion dollars in damages.
Shares in iSignthis last traded for $1.07 each in early October 2019. The company took the ASX to court over the suspended shares in December last year.
