IEIM400741 - Financial Institution: Depository Institutions: Specified Electronic Money Products or Central Bank Digital Currencies
Depository Institutions: Specified Electronic Money Products or Central Bank Digital Currencies
From 1 January 2026
Under CRS2.0, an Entity that holds Specified Electronic Money Products or Central Bank Digital Currencies on behalf of a customer is a Depository Institution.
Specified Electronic Money Products (“SEMPs”) are defined as:
a digital representation of a single Fiat Currency;
issued on receipt of funds for the purpose of making payment transactions;
represented by a claim on the issuer denominated in the same Fiat Currency;
accepted in payment by a natural or legal person other than the issuer; and
by virtue of regulatory requirements to which the issuer is subject, redeemable at any time and at par value for the same Fiat Currency upon request of the holder of the product.
A Central Bank Digital Currency is a digital Fiat Currency issued by a Central Bank.
A Fiat Currency is the official currency of a jurisdiction, issued by the jurisdiction’sCentral Bank or monetary authority.
A SEMP does not include a product created for the sole purpose of facilitating the transfer of funds from a customer to another person.
Therefore, if an entity’s only business is issuing electronic money products for the sole purpose of facilitating transfers of funds, then it will not be a Depository Institution. However,a product is not created for the sole purpose of facilitating the transfer of funds if, in the ordinary course of business of the transferring entity, either the funds connected with such product are held longer than 60 days after receipt of instructions to facilitate